The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has announced the extension of the country’s ban on exports of ferrous and paper waste.
Accordingly, the UAE’s Ministry of Economy issued a directive to suspend the export of raw materials, in particular steel scrap, under the following HS codes 720410, 720421, 720429, 720430, 720441, 720449 and 720450, until September 30 this year. Initially, the ban was implemented on May 15, 2020, for a period of four months ending on September 15 of the same year, in order to support local steelmakers. Afterwards, it was extended further for four months, as SteelOrbis has reported. India and Pakistan have been the main countries which suffered from the ban's introduction. Specifically, in 2019 the UAE was the largest supplier of ferrous scrap to India, with its export volumes surpassing one million mt and consequently accounting for 16.35 percent of all India’s ferrous scrap imports. Meanwhile, in 2019 ex-UAE scrap exports to Pakistan amounted to around 656,000 mt.