South Korea: Ferrous scrap imports rise 18% m-o-m in Sep'22

South Korea, one of the major buyers of ferrous scrap, imported 0.33 million tonnes (mnt) in September 2022 against 0.28 mnt in August, an increase of 18% m-o-m, as per Customs data maintained with SteelMint.

Less scrap availability in the domestic market and comparatively more demand for imported scrap might have pushed the import volume a bit more in September. Imports decreased 20% y-o-y compared to 0.41 mnt in September 2021.

Load country-wise break up :

• Imports from Japan increase: Japan continued to be the largest exporter of ferrous scrap to South Korea at 0.27 mnt in September. The volumes were higher by 29% compared to 0.21 mnt in August due to decline in Japanese scrap export prices.
  
  
• Imports from Russia recover m-o-m: Exports from Russia to Korea rose by 200% to 0.03 mnt in September from 0.01 mnt in August.
  
  
• Imports from the US drop: South Korea's scrap import volumes from the US dropped by 80% to 0.01 mnt in September against 0.05 mnt in August. Owing to lower prices from other exporting locations, the shipments dropped m-o-m.
  
  

Outlook: Scrap availability for major mills might be under pressure, which might trigger increased imports by Korea in the near term.