Posted on 26 Jul 2021
The government of Bangladesh has ordered the halt of steel production as part of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown after the Eid Al-Adha festival. Road and sea logistics and port operations have been exempted from this order, says a circular issued by the cabinet division.
The backbone of the nation's steel industry; the Chittagong shipbreaking yard, is also exempted from the lockdown. The nation beached 144 ships to generate 18.43 million light displacement tonnes (ldt) of scrap in 2020, Kallanish notes.
Shipbreaking scrap prices in the nation continue to hover at a high level, with Kallanish assessing steel plate recovered from containers at $600/ldt, tankers at $590/ldt and bulkers at $580/ldt. “These are the highest rates paid since the world’s 2008 financial crash; it is Bangladesh buyers only who are so far willing to pay such levels,” a market source informs.
Bangladesh is an emerging steel market, with steel production capacity totalling 7 million tonnes/year. Major steel mills in the nation include Bangladesh Steels Re-Rolling Mills Ltd (BSRM), Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd (RSRM) and Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd. (KSRM).
Source:Kallanish
