Japan saw a 33% m-o-m rise in ferrous scrap exports to 0.56 million tonnes (mnt) in January 2023. The country is one of the major ferrous scrap exporters globally.
Exports of the material rose in the first month of the year due to increased shipments to South Korea, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
South Korea and Vietnam imported more than 500,000 tonnes in the last two months.
Y-o-y, Japan’s scrap exports increased 93% in January 2023 compared to 286,380 t in January 2022, a major chunk being supplied to South Korea and Vietnam.
South Korea continued to be the largest importer in the month under review, at 301,953 t, followed by Vietnam and Taiwan at 134,466 t and 33,759 t, respectively.
- Exports to South Korea up: Export volumes to South Korea from Japan stood at 301,953 t in January, a sharp increase of 47% as compared to 205,336 t in December 2022. Exports to South Korea increased 42% y-o-y owing to better delivery conditions and competitive rates quoted for Japanese material compared to those from the United States and Russia.
- Exports to Vietnam double m-o-m: Japan’s export volumes were at 134,466 t in January, boosted by 110% m-o-m compared to 64,012 t in December 2022. Shipments to Vietnam increased by 309% y-o-y. Vietnamese importers ordered extra material from Japan, anticipating increased demand for long products after the TET vacations.
- Exports to Bangladesh resume in Jan: Japan exported 22,000 t to Bangladesh, after a pause in December 2022. In November 2022, volumes were at 40,863 t. Bangladeshi buyers booked their chunk of material after LC opening issues eased and some liquidity was injected into the market.
Japanese H2 scrap prices up
The monthly average H2 prices stood at JPY 50,875/t FOB in January, up by JPY 2,875/t against the previous month.
Outlook
Japan’s scrap prices may increase in the short term, feel market players, since exports of the material may rise further on the back of recovering demand from Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Leave a Reply