Canada urged to explore global scrap exports

Jun 29, 2011 | 01:28 PM | Sean Davidson

Tags  CARI, Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, ferrous, nonferrous scrap, Robert Stein, Greg Wittbecker, David Chiao, Pankaj Dave Sean Davidson

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Ferrous and nonferrous scrap market participants called on Canada’s scrap companies to explore export opportunities presented by markets like Turkey, Brazil, China, India and some southeast Asian countries.

Panelists at the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) 70th annual convention in Whistler also offered delegates guidance on export trade practices, and urged recyclers to conduct thorough due diligence when establishing new trade routes.

Greg Wittbecker, vice president of marketing at Alcoa Materials Management, said Brazil and, surprisingly, Turkey were potential destinations for aluminum scrap exports. "Turkey is now the world’s 10th-largest aluminum consumer, and Brazil for the first time became a net importer of aluminum scrap," he said.

Demand for industrial applications of aluminum will remain strong in coming years as it seeks greater utilization in the auto sector and appears to have beaten off the threat of composites in aerospace, Wittbecker told delegates.

Robert Stein, senior vice president of St. Louis-based Alter Trading Corp. and president of the nonferrous division of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, said the potential to grow in China and India is staggering.....