Vietnam imported 485,625mt of ferrous scrap in September 2020, down by 28.9pc from August amid weak demand for Vietnamese billets in China coupled with rising imported scrap prices, according to customs data. In September, the global ferrous scrap prices rose, while COVID-19 pandemic continued to plague Vietnamese domestic demand.
Many steel units are yet to reach pre-pandemic production levels. Vietnamese mills cautiously bought limited Japanese and US bulk cargo to avoid any raw material shortage. They still focus on Russian A3 cargo to reduce cost, but limited deals were heard for the same.
In September, Japan was the biggest supplier of ferrous scrap to Vietnam. Vietnam imported 290,728mt of ferrous scrap in the month, down by 9pc from 319,569mt imported in August. Imports from the US dropped by 43pc to 84,548mt from 148,907mt in the previous month Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports reduced in September with limited demand in auto sector.
During January-August, Vietnam imported 4.29mn mt of scrap, down by 1.1pc from the prior year period.
Vietnam’s imports in September
| Country | September | M-o-M Change | Y-o-Y Change |
| Japan | 290,728 | 9% | 35% |
| US | 84,548 | 43% | 78% |
| Hong Kong | 39,125 | – | 19% |
| Taiwan | 29,101 | – | 3602% |
| Philippines | 13,150 | 99% | 27% |