Chinese government’s latest batch of scrap import quotas shows modest volumes

Chinese government’s latest batch of scrap import quotas shows modest volumes
<![CDATA[

The Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has published the list of the 11th batch of 2020 scrap import quotas issued by the Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of the People’s Republic of China.

The list, published on August 18, does not include any ferrous scrap and only 2,610 metric tons of aluminum scrap. Red metal scrap earned a little more leeway, with quotas for 14,530 metric tons permitted, while recovered fiber was the volume leader with nearly 200,000 tons of inbound scrap paper permitted.

The second half of 2020 started out promising in terms of increased import volumes. In the MEE’s ninth batch of quotas, issued in early July, more than 200,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap and some 175,000 metric tons of coppers scrap was allowed in, along with more than 1.1 million metric tons of scrap paper and board.

However, the 10th batch, issued in late July, showed a retreat to just 1,110 metric tons of aluminum scrap, about 10,000 metric tons of copper scrap, less than 4,000 metric tons of ferrous scrap and 56,650 metric tons of paper scrap permitted to enter China.

The inclusion of copper as the highest volume material in the 11th  batch could be a nod toward the need for that metal in China. Statistics indicate the lack of red metal scrap imports there has led to widespread substitution of imported copper cathode and red metal ingots.

The quota system is on track to be phased out in 2021, with China’s government either prohibiting many types of scrap imports, or reclassifying some as “resources,” lifting them out of their current status as a “waste.”

Nonferrous scrap exporters have received some information on the reclassification process in that sector, although procedures are lagging the original timetable. Ferrous scrap exporters, meanwhile, are seeking to gain the reclassification of some grades in that sector.

Paper and board manufacturers in China, who invested in high-volume mills based on the ability to convert imported scrap paper into new product, have acknowledged that the nation’s shift away from scrap imports will likely present challenges.

The newest list of import quotes is available on the BIR website on this web page.

]]>
Source: Recycling Today
Chinese government’s latest batch of scrap import quotas shows modest volumes
<![CDATA[The Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has published the list of the 11th batch of 2020 scrap import quotas issued by the Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of the People’s Republic of China.The list, published on August 18, does not include any ferrous scrap and only 2,610 metric tons of aluminum scrap. Red metal scrap earned a little more leeway, with quotas for 14,530 metric tons permitted, while recovered fiber was the volume leader with nearly 200,000 tons of inbound scrap paper permitted.The second half of 2020 started out promising in terms of increased import volumes. In the MEE’s ninth batch of quotas, issued in early July, more than 200,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap and some 175,000 metric tons of coppers scrap was allowed in, along with more than 1.1 million metric tons of scrap paper and board.However, the 10th batch, issued in late July, showed a retreat to just 1,110 metric tons of aluminum scrap, about 10,000 metric tons of copper scrap, less than 4,000 metric tons of ferrous scrap and 56,650 metric tons of paper scrap permitted to enter China.The inclusion of copper as the highest volume material…