INFOGRAPHIC: Mapping the latest trends in the Asian ferrous scrap market

Asian steel scrap imports fluctuated wildly from territory to territory in 2020, with South Korea and Bangladesh reporting decreases while Taiwan and Vietnam recorded increases.

Japan, Asia's largest steel scrap supplier, exported 9.39 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last year - over a fifth more than in 2019.
Vietnam became the single largest importer of Japanese scrap last year; at 3.40 million tonnes, this was an increase of 54.7% year on year.
But South Korea's imports of Japanese material fell by 26.6% year on year to 2.95 million tonnes.
Further intrigue emerged in the Asian scrap market in January 2021, with the resumption of large-scale scrap imports in China.
China imported 221,409 tonnes of ferrous scrap in the first five months of 2021, a 2,894% increase from the same period in 2020. Imports from Japan alone accounted for 166,337 tonnes.
Following China's return to the international scrap market, Fastmarkets launched a daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China.

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