South Asia: Imported ship-breaking prices firm in Bangladesh, stable at Alang

South Asia's ship-breaking market witnessed a marginal drop in supply of fresh vessels last week. Prices remained firm in Bangladesh for the second consecutive week on higher demand.

India's market was inactive for yet another week, while Pakistan is still facing LC issues amid liquidity crisis in the country. Turkiye's market, on the other hand, remains robust, with no notable changes.

Stable prices in India

Indian buyers are riddled with concerns related to steel demand and have lagged behind buyers in the Chattogram market in vying for tonnage. The domestic market has been inactive due to declining steel prices and currency depreciation for the second consecutive week.

Last week, two vessels were beached: Monet (2,018 LDT) LPG vessel and Wan Chai 7 (7,008 LDT), a container.

On the domestic front, the INR stood at 82.66 against the USD during the first half of the trading session on 21 March, down slightly compared to INR 82.30 last week.

Total tonnage at Alang Port last week was 12,417 LDT.

Prices firm in Bangladesh

Bangladesh continued to dominate the market for yet another week after LC openings eased gradually. Although no deal was concluded last week, prices remained firm on strong demand.

Kash (872 LDT) Reefer, had arrived at the Chattogram Port last week.

The Bangladeshi Taka has fallen to BDT 106.09 compared to BDT 105.50 last week.

Total tonnage reported last week at Chattogram Port was 10,026 LDT.

Pakistan: Liquidity and political crisis

Shortage of liquidity and problems in opening new LCs have been holding back Gadani buyers from procuring fresh tonnage. The crisis has been aggravated by political instability in the country affecting the ship recycling market adversely.

The Pakistani currency fell further to PKR 283.64 during morning trade today compared to PKR 279.09 last week.

Total tonnage reported at Gadani Port last week was 1,657 LDT.

Prices in $/LDT
Source: SteelMint Research