Japan, one of the largest ferrous scrap exporting countries, recorded 0.86 million tonnes (mn t) of overseas sales of the material in Apr’21, as against 0.7 mn t in Mar’21 up 23% month on month (m-o-m), as per customs data maintained with SteelMint.
The exports increased despite higher domestic demand and surging freight rates. However, on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, the same registered a fall of 2% as compared to 0.88 mn t in Apr’20. Japan produced 7.8 mn t of crude steel in Apr’21, up 18.9% over Apr’20, according to World Steel Association(WSA) data.
South Korea emerges as top importer: South Korea’s monthly scrap imports from Japan were seen at 0.30 mn t, surging by 43% against Mar’21, making it the top importer in Apr’21. Strong steel demand in South Korea resulted in increase in scrap imports. SteelMint’s assessment for Japanese scrap export prices stood at JPY 43,600/t FoB Japan in Apr’21 as compared to JPY 43,000/t a month ago.
Vietnam remained the second largest importer at 0.26 mn t in Apr’21, up by 8% m-o-m, followed by Bangladesh and China with 0.11 mn t and 0.09 mn t respectively.
Scrap exports to China up: Ferrous scrap exports to China increased to 89,000 t in Apr’21 vis-a-vis 59,000 t in Mar’21. Due to improved consumer demand, China’s industrial production grew by 9.8% in Apr’21 against the corresponding period last year (CPLY), as per the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Japan’s billet exports decrease 27% m-o-m: Japan’s billet exports in Apr ’21 were recorded at 0.23 mn t, a m-o-m drop of 27%, as per SteelMint’s data. Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, China, and Indonesia were the predominant importers of Japanese billets. The fall in exports can be attributed to decreased buying from Taiwan and Thailand.
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