GACC: China's stainless scrap imports plunge 77% YoY in September

The average price of imported stainless scrap in September also fell to $1,189.5/tonne, down from $1,259.7/t in the same month last year. However, the price was slightly higher than August's average of $1,045.2/tonne, according to Mysteel Global's calculations based on GACC data.

For the first nine months of 2024, China imported approximately 72,400 tonnes of stainless steel scrap, marking a substantial 70.2% year-on-year drop, the GACC statistics showed.

This significant decline was mainly attributed to reduced imports from Japan, historically China's largest supplier of stainless scrap, which seems to have ceded ground to Malaysia in September.

China imported 1,711 tonnes from Japan in September, the lowest since March 2022, while imports from Malaysia surged 27% year-on-year to 1,688 tonnes, nearly matching Japan's volume.

From January to September, China's imports from Japan totaled 46,600 tonnes, down 59% from the same period last year.

The steep drop in stainless scrap imports was largely driven by an oversupply of domestic scrap, which has pushed down local prices. "Producers are increasingly sourcing from domestic suppliers, as it's easier to negotiate lower prices locally compared to imports," a stainless producer told Mysteel Global.

As of September 30, Mysteel's assessment showed that 304-grade stainless scrap prices in Wenzhou, East China, were at just Yuan 9,700/t ($1,362/t). Meanwhile, prices for 201-grade scrap in Wenzhou and 430-grade scrap in Wuxi stood at Yuan 4,150/t and Yuan 3,800/t, respectively, also under Mysteel's assessment.

Written by Adele Pan, panqinjie@mysteel.com   

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com