Pakistan’s ferrous scrap imports increased to 290,412 mt in June, up by 5pc from the prior year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In January to June period (H1), ferrous scrap imports rose to 2.026mn mt, up by 4pc from a year ago.
In June, scrap imports improved on sustained domestic demand after a slump in May. Scrap imports increased by 9pc from 266,420mt in May, which was down by 15pc from the prior year as consumption dropped due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pakistani buyers competed strongly against their subcontinental counterparts in India and Bangladesh in June to secure sizable volumes of ferrous scrap ahead of the monsoon and Eid holidays. A pent-up rise in demand due to low scrap inventories at mills and low domestic supply supported higher offers from UAE and UK.
Imports of iron and steel in June, however, fell on weak business sentiment. The country’s manufacturing index in May declined by almost 33pc from the peak in January.
Pakistan’s iron and steel imports dropped to 173,821mt in June, down by 36pc from May and down by 23pc from a year ago. In H1, iron and steel imports declined to 1.512mn mt, up by 9pc from a year ago.