BEIJING: As per the most recent data, the steel scrap imports by China during the month of September this year declined sharply over the previous year. Also, imports were down when compared with those during August this year.
The country’s scrap imports during September 2015 totaled 193,000 tons. The imports dropped by 5.6% year on year. The country had imported 204,000 tons of scrap during the same month last year. When compared with the previous month, the scrap imports by the country were down by 27.6%. China had imported 266,000 tons of scrap during August this year.
The largest scrap exporter to China during September this year was Japan. The scrap imports from Japan totaled 168,000 tons, accounting for nearly 87.3% of the total imports by China during the month. In second place was South Korea with 7,000 tons. The imports from South Korea have registered an increase of 12.8% year-on-year.
The cumulative scrap imports by the country during the initial nine-month period of the year totaled 1.902 million tons. The country’s steel scrap imports are estimated to exceed 2.5 million tons during the entire year 2015.