Asia (including India)

The seaborne recycled steel market in Asia continues to face challenges as China’s steel export momentum remains at record levels. Data released by China’s General Administration of Customs confirm that the country’s finished steel exports surged 22.7% year on year to 110.72 million tonnes in 2024, marking a nine-year high and flooding regional markets with lower-cost material.

In 2024, China’s finished steel exports surged by 22.7% year on year to 110.72 million tonnes, marking a nine-year high and flooding regional markets with lower-cost material.

Russian billet remains highly competitive, particularly in South East Asia where it has been actively traded below Chinese offerings. This continues to incentivise able mills towards rolling over melting, reducing demand for bulk and containerised recycled steel.

South Korea’s steel industry is facing challenges, with declining demand and production cuts. Crude steel production dropped 4.7% year on year in 2024 from 66.7 million tonnes to 63.5 million tonnes. Continued steel mill inactivity has led to a 30% decline in rebar production in January 2025. Additionally, closures at Pohang and Dangjin plants have reduced demand for recycled steel imports. Meanwhile, steel imports from China surged to a seven-year high, with Chinese steel priced significantly lower than local products. Rising material costs and a weakening currency are adding further pressure.

Taiwan recorded a 12% decline in recycled steel imports in 2024, driven by high power costs, power availability issues and cheap imported billet. As a result, steelmakers prioritised rolling operations, focusing on cost-effective billets along with cheaper pig iron and domestic recycled steel to compensate for weaker mill order books. The availability of these alternatives caused recycled steel prices to drop to five-year lows. Despite these challenges, signs of stabilisation are emerging, with import pricing beginning to increase since the Lunar New Year.

The story remains the same in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia owing to the availability of alternative materials. These countries severely reduced the pace of their bulk purchases in 2024; recycled steel continues to be imported, but primarily by container. 

In 2024, Bangladesh imported 5.19 million tonnes of recycled steel for a 10.8% increase over 2023, while domestic generation remained at 1.5 million tonnes. Despite challenges with financing owing to depreciation of the taka, conditions have stabilised. With Bangladesh looking to apply for EU Waste Shipment Regulation approval, continued access to European recycled steel imports remains a key priority.

India’s steel industry experienced notable shifts through 2024. Rolled product imports surged to a six-year high of 7.27 million tonnes between April and December for a 20.3% year-on-year increase, driven by robust infrastructure and automotive demand. Conversely, steel exports declined by 24.6% to a six-year low of 3.6 million tonnes owing to subdued global demand. Overall, domestic steel consumption grew approximately 8% year on year but recycled steel imports decreased to 8.44 million tonnes from 11 million tonnes in 2023, with shipments from the USA and the UK dropping by, respectively, 29% and 45% year on year. Factors such as rising freight costs, geopolitical events such as the Red Sea crisis and more cost-effective alternatives led to a 33% year-on-year increase in the usage of local recycled steel. Sponge iron consumption rose by around 9% year on year, further displacing reliance on traditional imports.

To protect the domestic steel industry from an influx of inexpensive steel imports, particularly from China, India has been contemplating regulatory safeguards.

The recent ceasefire in Gaza and the Houthi rebels’ decision to limit Red Sea attacks to Israel-linked vessels mark a potential turning point for global trade routes, enabling a gradual return to Suez Canal transits. This could help normalise traditional recycled steel flows, alleviating freight disruption and improving supply chain efficiency. However, broader market uncertainty persists, fuelled by speculation over policy shifts and new tariff investigations which continue to disrupt trade flows and heighten pricing volatility. As businesses navigate evolving geopolitical risks, potential retaliatory measures and regulatory challenges, the steel and recycled steel markets remain highly fluid.