By Anil Mathews

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Korean Customs and Trade Development Institution indicate that the country’s ferrous scrap exports increased considerably in October this year, upon comparison with the previous month. Also, cumulative scrap exports by the country during the initial ten-month period of the year were up significantly by nearly 19% when matched with the corresponding period in 2015.

South Korea exported 35,424 tons of scrap steel during the month of October this year. The exports were up significantly by nearly 65% when matched with the previous month. The country’s exports had totaled 21,531 tons of scrap steel during September 2016. The exports have registered month-on-month rise, after reporting declines during the previous two months.

The biggest importer of ferrous scrap from South Korea during October this year was China. The imports by China from South Korea totaled 13,502 tons, accounting for more than 38% of the total scrap exports by South Korea during the month. The imports from South Korea were up by almost one-third from September ’16. Vietnam was the second largest importer during the month, with 9,179 tons. The ferrous scrap exports to Vietnam from South Korea surged higher multiple-folds over the previous month. In third place was India with 5,860 tons. The other key importers of ferrous scrap from South Korea during the month were Japan (3,925 tons), Taiwan (1,460 tons), Thailand (772 tons) and Pakistan (590 tons).

The country exported 418,448 tons of scrap steel during the initial ten-month period of the year. The imports were up considerably by 18.9% when compared with the net export volume of 351,953 tons during the period from January to October in 2015. The monthly exports averaged at 41,845 tons so far this year. At the current rate, the country’s scrap steel exports are estimated to exceed half-a-million tons during the entire year 2016.

The largest importer of ferrous scrap from South Korea during the initial ten-month period of the year was China. The imports by China totaled 108,597 tons, accounting for nearly 26% share of the total exports by the country during the period. The imports from South Korea increased modestly by over 16% from the previous year. China had imported 93,505 tons during Jan-Oct in 2015. India was the second largest export destination during the first ten months of the current year. India’s ferrous scrap imports from South Korea totaled 81,471 tons, accounting for nearly 20% share of South Korea’s total exports during the period. The exports to India dropped by nearly 7% year-on-year. In third place was Vietnam with 16.2% share of total South Korean exports. The exports to Indonesia increased significantly by 114% to 67,597 tons when matched with the exports of 31,623 tons in Jan-Oct ’15. The other key importers of ferrous scrap from South Korea during the ten-month period were Bangladesh (59,986 tons), Japan (48,512 tons), Taiwan (17,929 tons), Pakistan (12,519 tons) and Thailand (11,456 tons).

Among customs ports, Dangjin accounted for nearly 29.1% of the total exports out of the country during January to October this year. The port recorded 122,000 tons of export during this period. In second and third place was Pusan and Incheon with exports of 111,000 tons and 102,000 tons respectively.

The table below provides the summary of South Korea’s ferrous scrap exports during the year-to-date period.