SE Asia’s largest ferrous scrap importer- Vietnam has seen a sharp decline of 48% m-o-m in its imported scrap volumes to 0.38 mn t in Jan’21, as per recent data released by customs department. With yards in major supplying countries being closed due to winter holidays, imports have remained on the lower side.
However, on a yearly basis, Vietnam scrap imports moved up by 15% in Jan’21 vis-a- vis 0.33 mn t in Jan’20.
- Imports from Japan fall by 47% m-o-m – Japan continues to remain the largest supplier at 0.18 mn t in Jan’21 (down by 47% m-o-m). Second major source of imports was US at 0.08 mn t (down by 58% m-o-m) followed by Hong Kong and Australia.
- Prices rose in Dec’20 – SteelMint’s monthly price assessment for bulk H2 scrap stood at $430/t CFR Vietnam in Dec’20 (up by 5% m-o-m) and US HMS (80:20) at $445/t CFR Vietnam in Dec’20 (up by 2% m-o-m). Hike in imported scrap offers had kept buyers in wait-&-watch mode for a few weeks in Dec’20 limiting the bookings.
Vietnam continues to remain a leading scrap importer amongst SE Asian countries with imports of 5.85 mn t in CY’20, up by 13% y-o-y in CY’19. It’s crude steel output increased by 11% in CY’20.
Outlook – Vietnam’s steel industry has seen limited scrap bookings so far in Feb’21 due to ongoing Tet holidays. Market sources expect trade activities to resume actively from next week onwards.
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