Imports from Japan fell and share from USA rose sharply, on uncertainty in Japanese offers in Feb-Mar’20
Vietnam, one of the leading ferrous scrap importers in Asia, witnessed a decline in its ferrous scrap imports by 14% m-o-m. The country imported 0.34 mn t in May’20 in comparison to 0.39 mn t in April’20, as per the data maintained with SteelMint, as offers to Vietnam had been in a downward trend in Feb and Mar ’20.
On a yearly basis, import volume has fallen by 28% y-o-y from 0.47 mn t registered during the same month in the previous year.
Japan remains the largest ferrous scrap exporter to Vietnam this month, with 53% of share in total scrap imported by Vietnam in May’20. Vietnam imported 0.18 mn t of scrap from Japan in May’20 decreased by 37% as compared to 0.28 mn t in April’20. Meanwhile, on a y-o-y basis, the country has increased its scrap exports by 6% y-o-y in May’20 as it had exported 0.16 mn t to Japan in May’19.
Other major exporters such as the USA and Australia exported 0.07 mn t and 0.04 mn t respectively. Also, it was observed that there is a sharp increase in scrap imports by 234% m-o-m from the USA. Apart from these 3 major exporters, the rest of the countries (including Hong Kong, Taiwan etc.) together exported 0.04 mn t in May’20, witnessing a decrease by 24% m-o-m.
Imported scrap market to Vietnam witnessed a consistent fall in Feb’20 and offers from Japan dropped by over $20/t between mid-Feb to mid-Mar 2020, making Vietnam buyers cautious in bookings for May delivery. On the other hand, offers from the USA were favourable, encouraging buyers to shift more towards USA origin cargoes during this time period.
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