In August, South Korean customs started radioactive inspections of Japanese steel scrap at the ports of Dangjin, Gwangyang and Busan. While the main ports of Incheon and Pohang have not been involved in these inspections so far, it is expected that the inspections in question will start at these locations later in the month. Such checks will increase the time needed for getting customs clearances, market participants said, but it is unlikely to hurt imports of steel scrap from Japan much.
“There is some political background, so it is hard to predict, but I do not think that imports from Japan will post a sharp decrease in the near future,” one of the major exporters from Japan told SteelOrbis. In 2018, South Korea imported 6.4 million mt of ferrous scrap, 4 million mt of which was from Japan.