China completes revising national standards for ferrous scrap

Mysteel Global: After nearly a year of deliberation, China has finalized new national standards for recycling iron-steel materials, the country's National Public Service Platform for Standards Information, an organization under the State Councils State Administration for Market Regulation, has announced. The new standards are set to replace those that have been in use for four years, the severity of which has been cited as one reason why China's imports of ferrous scrap continue to languish.

The detailed version of the revised standards is yet to be published but it is known that the revision contains additional categories of ferrous scrap, enhanced classification requirements for mixed materials, and refined transportation guidelines.

The revision, finalized on November 28, also clarifies the definition of impurity and steel content, and optimizes specifications for scrap composition and size, according to the China Metallurgical Information and Standardization Institute, one of the major organizations involved in drafting the new standards.

As the revised set of standards aligns more closely with international trade practices, this could ease the entry of foreign scrap materials into China, Mysteel Global noted.

Since 2021, the central government has mandated that imported steel scrap must meet national standards, and the tough criteria that imports have had to satisfy has significantly limited the volumes of foreign scrap entering China in the past few years, as reported.

During the first ten months of this year, for example, China's total imports of ferrous scrap added up to 209,166 tonnes, lower by a significant 54.2% compared with the same period last year, according to statistics from the country's General Administration of Customs. By comparison, Mysteel estimates that the country's steelmakers will consume approximately 254 million tonnes of steel scrap this year.

However, the revised standards will not come into force until June 1 next year, according to the platform publishing them, which means the existing standards will remain in effect for the coming six months and continue to cause headaches for scrap importers, sources say.

Even after the new standards are implemented, traders will still need some time to adjust their operations to comply with the new rules and to explain the new requirements to their foreign suppliers. Consequently, a rush by Chinese scrap importers of large-scale purchases of scrap materials from overseas seems unlikely.

As such, China's ferrous scrap imports may not show any remarkable increase in 2025, Mysteel Global understands.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.