Posted on 12 Dec 2019
Indian imports of ferrous scrap under HS code 7204 declined for a second consecutive month in October, by -21% on-year to 423,877 tonnes, Kallanish learns from Indian commerce ministry data. The declining trend follows multiple months of increases. The average value of imported obsolete scrap under HS code 720449 was $327/tonne versus $366/t in October 2018.
The US bucked the trend again, increasing overall scrap supply to India by 18% in October to 50,332t. However, imports from United Arab Emirates and Singapore fell -34% and -14% respectively to 83,448t and 35,152t. Intake from the UK and South Africa dropped -43% and -67% respectively to 30,773t and 15,202t.
Intake from Kuwait and Germany also dropped significantly, but supply from Brazil surged to almost 13,000t from just over 1,000t a year earlier.
As scrap imports dropped in October, Indian crude steel output fell -3.4% on-year to 9.1 million tonnes, according to worldsteel data.
In January-October Indian scrap imports still increased 19% on-year to 6.08mt, with the UAE, UK and US providing 986,392t, 772,965t and 661,522t respectively.
By comparison, the world’s largest scrap importer, Turkey, registered a -13% drop in ten-month scrap imports to 15.18mt (see Kallanish passim).
