Australia’s ferrous scrap exports decreased by 9pc in 2020 to 2.01mn mt from 2.30mn mt in 2019, according to the country’s Customs data.
In December 2020, ferrous exports from the country fell by 31pc to 166,665mt from 240,701mt in the same month of 2019 but rose from 137,492mt in November 2020.
Bangladesh remained a key importer of Australian ferrous scrap in 2020, despite shipment volumes to the South Asian country falling by 4pc to 527,357mt last year against 551,782mt in 2019. In December 2020, Bangladesh’s imports of Australian scrap declined by 56pc to 39,951mt from 90,601mt in the same month of 2019 and dropped by 6pc from 42,367mt in November 2020.
Australia’s exports to Vietnam, another big importer, also fell by 24pc to 358,461mt in 2020 from 474,219mt in 2019. In December, however, shipments to Vietnam increased by 29pc to 45,923mt from 35,569mt in December 2019 and rose by 73pc from 26,514mt in November.
Pakistan’s imports of Australian scrap surged by 284pc last year to 119,988mt from 31,238mt in 2019. In December 2020, the country’s imports increased by 48pc to 8,933mt from 6,054mt in the same month of 2019.
India and Indonesia also raised their imports of Australian scrap in December compared to December 2019, though shipments to the former increased by 15pc in 2020 from 2019, while the latter decreased its imports by 22pc during the same period.