Bangladesh continues to remain an emerging market. Imports of steel and raw material play an important role for Bangladesh, as the country’s dependence on them is very high. SteelMint maintains import data of Bangladesh, which comprises only bulk shipments. According to this data some interesting inferences can be made
1. Bangladesh resumes Coal imports after a gap of two months. This is a general phenomenon as most countries do not import coal during monsoon season, which starts in May/June and ends in July. Coal imported to Bangladesh is largely used by brick manufacturers.
2. Bulk scrap imports rise in August due to price difference between containerized and bulk scrap shipments. Second reason is congestion at Bangladesh’s Chittagong port which does not permits shipping lines to send their containers to Bangladesh. Most of these bulk vessels are bought by BSRM, Bangladesh’s largest steel mill. Other mills are relying on domestic scrap which is generated from Ship recycling.
3. No bulk imports of HBI and Pig iron were reported. HBI and Pig iron is imported solely by Abul Khair, which is the second largest mill in Bangladesh and operates Electric Arc Furnace (EAF).
4. HR Coil imports picked up as compared to last month. Imports from Korea increased in August. Around 40,000 MT was imported from Korea,30,000 MT from Japan and 9,000 MT from Malaysia.
5. One shipment of 27,400 MT Billet was reported at Chittagong port on 22nd August. This cargo was loaded from India’s Chennai port on 1 Aug’17, by JSW steel.
Bangladesh Bulk Import in CY2017
| MONTH | Coal | SCRAP | HBI | STEEL COIL | STEEL BILLET | PIG IRON |
| JAN17 | 212,700 | 99,124 | NIL | 80,590 | 44,000 | 15,750 |
| FEB17 | 462,700 | 9,800 | 50,600 | 101,850 | NIL | NIL |
| MAR17 | 255,570 | 127,270 | 25,010 | 60,190 | NIL | NIL |
| APR17 | 44,000 | 146,710 | NIL | 63,720 | NIL | NIL |
| MAY17 | 6,900 | NIL | NIL | 74,430 | NIL | NIL |
| JUN17 | NIL | 37,560 | NIL | 105,800 | NIL | NIL |
| JUL17 | NIL | 20,050 | NIL | 3,160 | NIL | NIL |
| AUG17 | 100,530 | 41,600 | NIL | 80,820 | 27,400 | NIL |
| Grand Total | 1,082,400 | 482,114 | 75,610 | 570,560 | 71,400 | 15,750 |
Qty in MT
Source: SteelMint Stats, Bangladesh Custom
Provisional Data
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