European recyclers exported 9.22mn mt of ferrous scrap in January-May compared to 5.99mn mt in the same period of 2020, according to SteelData.
Of the total exports during the period under review, 6.32mn mt was shipped to Turkey, up 57pc against the same timeframe a year ago and accounted for 68.5pc of the total exports from the region to third countries.
Shipments of the material from the EU to Egypt and Pakistan increased by 83pc and 21pc to 850,000mt and 293,000mt, respectively, in the first five months compared to January-May 2020.
European recyclers exported 323,000mt of ferrous scrap to the USA and 281,000mt to Switzerland, according to SteelData. Shipment of the material to Morocco almost tripled to 200,000mt in January-May but dropped by 19pc to 196,000mt to India.
In May 2021, European recyclers exported 1.52mn mt of ferrous scrap, 56pc up compared to the same month a year ago. Shipments to Turkey totalled 1.05mn mt.
Top 10 ferrous scrap exporters from the EU (in mt)
| Jan-May 2020 | Jan-May 2021 | change, pc | |
| Netherlands | 1,395,060 | 2,235,453 | 60 |
| Belgium | 1,071,814 | 1,477,304 | 38 |
| Romania | 416,514 | 654,060 | 57 |
| Germany | 463,797 | 646,133 | 39 |
| France | 303,507 | 628,366 | 107 |
| Lithuania | 335,365 | 496,636 | 48 |
| Denmark | 363,797 | 484,766 | 33 |
| Poland | 222,263 | 467,179 | 110 |
| Sweden | 360,064 | 344,620 | -4 |
| Bulgaria | 139,212 | 254,084 | 83 |
Source: SteelData