India: Mono Steel-booked 35,000 t of bulk ferrous scrap cargo arrives at Kandla Port

A bulk ferrous scrap cargo has arrived at India’s Kandla Port on 7 April 2023, SteelMint’s vessel line-up data revealed. The cargo, consisting of 34,930 t of US-origin mixed scrap, was booked by Gujarat-based Mono Steel two months ago. Sources inform that of the total material, approximately 8,800 t is HMS (80:20), 21,730 t shredded, and 4,400 t bonus scrap, which were booked at the price range of $460-475/t.

It is worth noting that, Mono Steel imported around 3,66,000 t of scrap in 11 bulk vessels in FY23 and emerged as India’s largest bulk scrap importer. The company imports 45,000 t of scrap every month to meet its steel production requirements.

The mill has 7 induction furnaces with a capacity of 30 t/day each, 5  kilns of 100 t/day each, and a TMT rolling capacity of 500-600 t/day along with a 12 MW power plant. The company is coming up with an additional rolling capacity of 0.5 mnt in FY24.

In discussion with SteelMint, Mr. Keyur Shah, Director of Mono Steel said, “Currently, bulk booking offers are hovering around $470-480/t in India, although no active deals are happening. Bookings are possible if prices come down by $10-15/t as per the scrap requirement of the industry, and the bulk booking trend will continue in the coming months.”

In FY23, India imported 9.8 mnt of ferrous scrap, with 20% of the total coming in bulk vessels. Additionally, the volume of scrap imported was three times higher than that of the previous fiscal year, signaling the steel industry’s need for higher ferrous scrap in the coming years.