HONG KONG: The latest statistics released by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department indicate that the country’s steel scrap exports increased sharply during the month of December last year, upon comparison with the same month a year before. However, the exports declined when matched with the prior month. The steel scrap exports by Hong Kong registered second consecutive month of decline during the month. The yearly exports by the country surged higher in 2016.
According to statistics, Hong Kong exported 97,000 tons of steel scrap during December 2016. The exports increased significantly by over 29% when matched with those during the same month a year before. The country had exported nearly 75,000 tons of scrap steel during Dec ’15. Meantime, the Dec ’16 exports have declined by nearly 26% from those during November last year. It must be noted that exports by the country during November last year had totaled 131,000 tons, down by nearly 7% from the highs recorded during October.
The primary destination of steel scrap from Hong Kong during Dec ’16 was Vietnam. The imports by Vietnam surged higher significantly by more than 300% over the previous year. The exports to Vietnam totaled 47,000 tons, thereby accounting for nearly 49% share of the total exports by Hong Kong during the month. The second largest importer was Indonesia. The imports by Indonesia decreased marginally by 8.5% year-on-year to total 16,000 tons. The cumulative steel scrap exports by the country during the entire year 2016 totaled 1.347 million tons. The monthly exports averaged at around 112,250 tons during the year. The yearly exports were up by almost 10% over the previous year. The cumulative scrap exports by Hong Kong during the entire year 2015 had totaled 1.228 million tons.
