Seaborne scrap market noticed a fall in first two months of 2016. According to data maintained by SteelMint, it was assessed that scrap trade in top 5 countries remain low in Jan and Feb 2016 (pls find the table attached).
Prime reasons for fall in trade were lower crude steel production and rising availability of Chinese billet.
Turkey, which is the largest importer of scrap, noticed a fall of about 8% in scrap imports compared to corresponding period in previous year. Situation is quite similar in Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan.
However, Indian market noticed a positive trend in 2016 due to increase in bulk shipments. Scrap import to India in Jan and Feb 2016 was recorded at 1.03 MnT.
Import likely to improve in April
Seaborne scrap trade is likely to improve in April, after a sharp rise in Chinese billet prices. Accordingly, many steel mills have switched to scrap over billet.
Scrap import in last 3 years
| Country | Jan-Feb 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
| Turkey | 2.3 | 16.25 | 19 |
| Korea | 0.76 | 5.5 | 8 |
| India | 1.03 | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Vietnam | 0.37 | 3.18 | 3.37 |
| Taiwan | 0.35 | 3.5 | 4.27 |
Import quantity in MnT
Source: SteelMint Research
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