Malaysia Al scrap imports jump by 120pc in April

Malaysia’s imports of aluminium scrap jumped by 120pc to 40,920mt in April, from 18,590mt in the prior-year period. Copper scrap imports, however, fell by 47pc to 21,372mt in April.

Aluminium scrap imports into Malaysia rose as the country become a preferred destination for scrap after China restricted imports since July last year. During the pandemic lockdown, Indian markets were nearly closed for trade in April, shifting more scrap to Malaysia. India imposed a strict nationwide lockdown starting March 24 until around mid-May when the restriction were relaxed.

Malaysia’s imported 28,000mt of aluminium scrap from the US, up by 206pc in April, from a year ago. Imports from Japan also jumped by 132pc to 5,966mt.

Copper scrap imports into Malaysia, however, dropped by 47pc on tight supply. Imports from the US dropped by 54pc to 8,457mt and imports from Japan dropped by 40pc to 4,615mt in April, from a year ago.