Copper Scrap Imports Come Down Substantially - July 9, 2008

Mumbai: The country's copper scrap import has fallen by 65% since used copper and seconds were brought under the hazardous material category and its import norms were made stringent three years ago. The total import of copper waste and scrap dwindled to 29,340 tonnes in 2007-08 from a record high of 84,500 tonnes in 2005-06. In 2006-07, it was 35,050 tonnes. Owing to fall in import, prices of secondary copper have risen. The price differential between virgin and secondary copper has reduced sharply to 8 per cent against 15 per cent earlier. At present, the benchmark copper heavy scrap is quoted at Rs 387 per kg as against Rs 178 three years earlier. But virgin red metal, which moves in tandem with the London Metal Exchange (LME) prices, was sold on July 8 at Rs 419 in Mumbai's Kika Street, the famous base metal market in the country, as compared to Rs 210 three years ago.

Securing import licence is confined only to a few organised large companies which sell scrap to small and medium units. On Tuesday, unavailability of scrap has forced buyers to pay through their nose to run their smelters. Scrap is being quoted a Rs 7,500 per tonne, recording a rise of Rs 1,500 per tonne in the last few months. The unavailability of scrap will surely push up the prices of products made of copper and allied metals including brass, Mardia said. India paid Rs 637.84 crore in 2007-08 for copper scrap imports compared with Rs 684.61 crore in 2005-06. Largely dominated by unorganised sector players, secondary copper contributes about 50 per cent of the country's total red metal production of around one million tonnes. The country consumes 6.5-7 lakh tonnes of copper annually and remaining is shipped abroad.