Taiwan’s ferrous scrap imports fell 6.4pc to 318,213mt in Nov 2019 from 340,034mt in the same month in 2018 according to import data released by Taiwan’s bureau of foreign trade.
In Nov 2019, ferrous scrap imports rose by 85,424mt or 36.69pc from 232,789mt imports recorded in October. The US had the largest share of shipments to Taiwan at 49pc of total imports. The country supplied 156,312mt ferrous scrap to Taiwan during the month. However, imports from the US dropped 6.43pc compared with Nov 2018 and rose 38pc from 113,149mt in Oct 2019.
Imports from Japan, the second largest supplier to Taiwan rose 148.56pc to 64,143mt in November from 25,806mt in October. Other major exporters included Canada with 19,963mt, Hong Kong with 13,822mt, and Australia with 13,633mt, occupying 6pc, 4pc, and 4pc shares, respectively.
In the first 11 months of 2019, Taiwan imported 3.13mn mt ferrous scrap, down 4.5pc from 3.28mn mt in the same period in 2018. Imports from the US, at 1.55mn mt, remained almost flat from the same period in the prior year, followed by imports from Japan and Canada, which rose 29pc and 6pc, to 532,129mt and 144,057mt, respectively. During the same period, the country’s crude steel production fell by 4.1pc from a year earlier, according to the World Steel Association.
The domestic steel demand remained weaker and imports of semi-finished steel rose significantly during the same period resulting in lower ferrous scrap imports.