The Taiwanese government has announced the lifting of its export ban on scrap, billet and rebar for six months, with effect as of today, October 9. However, to enable the monitoring of the export volume, producers wanting to export debar and billet will have to apply for export licenses.
Most market players think that this regulation adjustment will give a boost to local prices for scrap, billet and rebar due to more flexible export volumes in the following months.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the Taiwanese rebar and billet producers met with government officials on September 12, to persuade them to lift the export ban on rebar and billets, given that the situation in both the domestic and export markets has changed.
According to the producers, demand for billets and rebar in the international and local Taiwanese market is relatively weak, leading to a continuing decline in the prices of these products. Especially in the local market where construction activity has slowed down, rebar consumption is currently very low. In this context, the producers considered that the continuation of the export ban is unreasonable.