South Korea’s ferrous scrap imports in January 2021 dropped by 47pc to 217,945mt compared to same period in 2020, while it dipped 43pc from December 2020 when 383,896mt scrap was imported, according to data released by the customs department.
In January 2021, ferrous scrap imports from Mexico and Vietnam saw a positive growth of 38pc and 9pc, respectively, compared to December 2020. Imports from the US nosedived 85pc to 8,276mt in Jan compared from 56,931mt in the previous month. Japan and Russia remained the biggest ferrous scrap exporters to the country with 151,493mt and 38,363mt, respectively, supplied to South Korea, though it is still 36pc and 41pc less than previous month figures.
| South Korea Ferrous Scrap Import in Jan’21( in mt) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exporting Country | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Change M-o-M | Jan’20 | Change Y-o-Y |
| Japan | 151,493 | 237,999 | -36pc | 230,623 | -34pc |
| Russian Federation | 38,363 | 64,989 | -41 pc | 39,394 | -3pc |
| United States | 8,279 | 56,931 | -85 pc | 110,831 | -93pc |
| Thailand | 5,514 | 7,132 | -23 pc | 5,228 | 5pc |
| Taiwan | 3,491 | 4,186 | -17 pc | 3,748 | -7pc |
| Mexico | 1,891 | 1,372 | 38 pc | 1,844 | 3pc |
| Philippines | 1,830 | 2,192 | -16 pc | 522 | 251pc |
| Vietnam | 1,145 | 1,047 | 9 pc | 844 | 36pc |
| Others | 5,939 | 8,048 | -26 pc | 17,420 | -66pc |
| Total | 217,945 | 383,896 | -43 pc | 410,454 | -47pc |
Imports from Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and other countries also registered de growths in January.
Compared to prior year period, imports from the Philippines skyrocketed 251pc to 1,830mt from 522mt. Imports from Japan fell 34pc while from the US, it dropped by 91pc compared to January 2020.
South Korea imported 4.39mn mt ferrous scrap in 2020, which is lower than previous two years. The country imported 6.50mn mt in 2019 and 6.39mn mt scrap in 2018.