Latin American Scrap Volumes Hit by COVID-19 Pandemic

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Latin America Committee of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) reported substantial decline in scrap generation volumes in the countries of the region. The dip is primarily attributed to government efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.

In the most recent update published late July this year, Committee Chair Alejandro Jaramillo commented that the pandemic has hit hard Brazil and Mexico- the two largest economies in the region.

The low demand situation led to low productivity within the Brazilian steel market from February to May this year. The ferrous scrap export market remained largely unaffected. The region’s ferrous scrap export volumes surged higher by 15% year-on-year during Feb-June ’20. The lack of domestic demand in the region boosted exports.

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The scrap collections in certain regions of Chile have dropped by up to 50%. The extended lockdown period in the country has resulted in overall drop in collections by nearly 30%. The complete closure or partial operation schedules at private companies in Argentina and Brazil too have impacted scrap generation. Although coronavirus spread has been contained in several countries in the region, the economic troubled on account of the crisis continues to persist.