South Korea, one of the prominent buyers of ferrous scrap, registered a rise of 31% in imports of the material in H1CY22 (January-June 2022) to 2.55 million tonnes (mnt) from 1.96 mnt in the corresponding period last year (CPLY), as per SteelMint’s customs data.
The rise in imports was largely due to healthy steel demand and recovery from the pandemic period. Also, due to limited local scrap generation, leading mills raised their imports to make up for the domestic shortage in H1.
In June 2022, the country imported a total of 0.37 mnt of ferrous scrap against 0.44 mnt in May, a drop of 16% m-o-m. Japan was the leading exporter with 0.21 mnt, followed by the USA at 0.12 mnt in June.
Load country-wise breakup-
- Imports from Japan up: South Korea imported 1.65 mnt of Japanese scrap in January-June 2022 over 1.39 mnt in CPLY. About 19% of Korea’s total scrap imports in H1 came from Japan. Korean mills turned active in imports of premium grade scrap such as heavy scrap (HS), Shindachi bara and busheling material owing to a sudden rise in its demand.
- Imports from USA improve: The United States was the second largest exporter to South Korea with 0.38 mnt in H1CY22, a rise of 46% from 0.26 mnt in CPLY. Buyers preferred US-origin material due to its workable prices.
- Imports from Russia inch up: South Korea’s scrap import volumes from Russia saw an uptick of 9% to 0.23 mnt in the first half of CY22 as against 0.21 mnt in CPLY.
Outlook
Steelmakers’ increased preference for domestic scrap due to lower prices is likely to weaken demand for imported material.
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