Pakistan’s ferrous scrap imports drop to 330,790mt in March down by 12pc from February amid high offers. Imports improved by 26pc in March from the lower base in the prior year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The decline in scrap imports can be attributed to healthy domestic scrap supply. Robust demolition activities ahead of Ramadan and increased buying of scrapped ship tonnage eased domestic supply. Also, shortage of containers, high landed cost due to increase in freight rates and vessel delays favoured the consumption of domestic material over imports.
In March, steel demand and prices both remained stable in Pakistan but failed to encourage scrap importers to raise their bids in sync with other Asian buyers. Slow infrastructure projects and cash flow issues also held back steel mills from raising their bids.
Pakistan’s iron and steel imports grew to 343,259mt in March, up by 55pc from February, while it improved by 36pc from the prior year. From January to March, iron and steel imports improved by 30pc to 8,46,831 compared to the prior year period as the Pakistani economy gradually recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.