During a recent MEIS conference, Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI), a steel producer based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the firm’s chief commercial officer declared that they aim to double their scrap use by early 2025 and boost the country's steel manufacturing capacity.
"At the moment, AGSI purchases approximately 45,000-50,000 mt of scrap per month. We are now undergoing an expansion program, which we intend to finish by the second quarter of next year, after which we will purchase around 60,000 mt per month. There is also a plan, which is currently in the design stage, to put up a new meltshop and once that is completed we would expect to consume around 100,000 mt per month of scrap," the company's chief commercial officer Deepak Bhandari stated.
Furthermore, based on information provided by an AGSI official, the local steel scrap market in the United Arab Emirates consumes around 120,000 mt per month of steel scrap at the moment. This is anticipated to increase to approximately 150,000 mt per month by the second quarter of the following year due to investments made in steelmaking capacity and scrap purchasing in the UAE.
Similarly, Rajesh Agarwal, CEO of recycler RKG International, noted that scrap supply in the UAE market is limited and that current consumption is about 100,000-120,000 mt per month, although scrap use in the UAE should be 200,000 mt per month, which is not the case at the moment. However, with increasing capacity anticipated in the UAE, Mr. Agarwal said he expects raw material shortages in the coming years, which may force mills to enter the import market.
"If Emirates Steel begins to use more scrap and less DRI, there will undoubtedly be a shortage of scrap in the UAE, and imports will be the only option. In Saudi Arabia, there is local availability, scrap exports are completely prohibited, and the only choice is to import. I believe that, with the new capacity here, the UAE will become a net importer of scrap very soon," Agarwal noted.