Korean Al scrap imports up on China alloy demand

South Korea’s copper scrap imports dropped by 13pc in June, from the prior-year period, while aluminium scrap imports jumped by 29pc during the same time amid strong demand for aluminium alloys from China.

South Korea imported 22,659mt of copper scrap in June, down from 26,153mt in the prior-year period. The US remained the top supplier, however, mports from the middle-east dropped, replaced by supply from Mexico and Japan.

Aluminium scrap imports into South Korea jumped to 85,316mt, up from 66,205mt in June 2019 amid soaring demand for aluminium ingots from China as the country exhausted its scrap import quotas. South Korea was China’s preferred supplier for secondary aluminium ingots owing to the country’s proximity, higher quality and lack of any duties. 

South Korea exported 37,817mt of unwrought aluminium alloy in June, up from 18,987mt in the prior-year period and up from 29,570mt in the previous month. In June, China constituted 26,181mt of total unwrought aluminium exports from South Korea, up from 757mt in the prior-year period and up from 19,920mt from May 2020.