Thailand’s ferrous scrap imports were at 115,343mt in December, up by 6.42pc from the prior year, and an increase of 37.9pc from the prior month, according to Davis Index analysis.
In December 2019, Japan exported 16,156mt of ferrous scrap to Thailand, up by 988.6pc from the prior year. Japan was the top supplier in December followed by Panama at 11,125mt; Malaysia accounted for 5,473mt; Australia was at 8607mt, and Hong Kong at 3,573mt. Imports from the US fell by 13pc to 38,621mt from December 2018, but increased by 369.8pc over the prior month.
The country’s semi-finished steel imports in December rose by 6.24pc to 25,9748mt from the prior year, while semi-finished steel imports fell by 40pc in November. In December 2019, India was the biggest exporter of semi-finished steel to Thailand at 19,551mt, up by 24.39pc from Dec 2018.
Steelmakers in Thailand are ramping up capacity and electric arc furnace or EAF-based steelmakers dominated the domestic sector. Domestic scrap availability is insufficient and Thai-based steel producers dependent on imported ferrous scrap to bridge the demand gap.