South Korea is one of the leading aluminium scrap importer in the world. The country imports aluminium scrap and recycles them for making aluminium alloys. As reported in the latest edition of Non-Ferrous Metals World Mirror by Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the country’s import of aluminium scrap from Japan surged 56% to 55,000 tons in 2016.
{newsStudioGallery}
{alcircleadd}In the year 2014, South Korea imported 8,01,336 tons of aluminium scrap. The cost of import was USD 1.3 billion for the same amount. In the year 2015, the amount increased to 8,67,334 tons and the cost of import stood at USD 3.3 billion. In the year 2016, South Korea is estimated to import 9,45,093 tons of aluminium scrap and the cost of import is estimated to stand at USD 5 billion. We see a consistent rise in aluminium scrap import by South Korea and at the same time, increase in the price of aluminium scrap in the export market. This indicates tightness in supply for aluminium scrap.
Considering the trend in last three years the aluminium scrap import by South Korea is estimated to reach 7,28,519 tons in the first ten months of 2017 and the cost of import is estimated to be about USD 5.4 billion.
{googleAdsense}
The top aluminium scrap exporters to South Korea are Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Thailand which two countries together contribute about 27% of scrap import.
The main consumer of aluminium products in South Korea is the automotive sector especially commercial and consumer cars. It is a growing market for aluminium in Asia other than Japan that is expected to drive more import of aluminium scrap and primary aluminium in the coming years.
Responses
