PAKISTAN July 25 2016 4:32 PM     

ISLAMABAD (Scrap Register):  In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, Pakistan's iron and steel  scrap imports increased 4% to $1.08 billion against $656 million in 2012-13,  according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of volume the imports  of scrap increased 133% to 4.15 million tons in FY16 from 1.78 million tons in  FY13.

The main reasons of the surge are, the government imposed many  taxes on the ship-breaking industry, which was the only source of providing  scrap to the steel-melting and iron-rods manufacturing industries. The closure  of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has sparked the surge in scrap imports. And China  has been dumping steel across the world including Pakistan.

To avoid  higher duties many importers imports finished steel products in the name of  scrap. According to PBS, Pakistan also imported iron and steel (finished  products) worth $2 billion in FY16, which was 10% higher than $1.82 billion in  FY15.