Thailand's scrap imports surged higher in April '14

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The latest import statistics indicate that the scrap imports by Thailand during April this year rose significantly over the year. Also, the scrap imports witnessed a sharp increase when compared with the imports during the same month a year ago.

The scrap imports by Thailand during the month of April this year totaled 104,000 tons. The imports surged higher by 54.6% when compared with the scrap imports during the same month a year ago. Also, the scrap imports soared 158.3% over the previous month. Thailand had imported 40,000 tons of scrap during the month of March this year.

The country’s scrap imports during initial four months of the year totaled 278,000 tons. The scrap imports were 9.6% higher upon comparison with the imports during the similar four-month period last year.

The largest scrap exporter to Thailand during January-April this year was Australia. The scrap imports by Thailand from Australia totaled 123,000 tons. The scrap imports from Australia accounted for 44% of the total scrap imports by Thailand during the month. The scrap exports from Australia to Thailand soared by nearly 600% during Jan-Apr ’14 when compared with the imports during the same period a year ago.

The second largest scrap exporter to Thailand during the first four months of the year was South Africa. The imports from South Africa were up 27% year-on-year to 15,000 tons. In third place was Panama with 12,000 tons. Thailand’s scrap imports from Panama dropped 47% over the previous year.