Containers or bulk into Karachi?

Containers. Pakistani melters buy shredded and HMS in 20-foot boxes of 24 to 27 t on liner services from the UK, the Continent and the US East Coast, calling off 20 to 200 boxes a month; that is how most of the 2.6 million tonnes arrives. Handysize bulk parcels of 20,000 to 30,000 t suit only the two or three largest furnaces and need a berth window at Port Qasim. Tell us your monthly melt and we size the programme.

Which grades do the furnaces want?

Induction furnaces want dense, clean charge: shredded (ISRI 210/211), busheling and bundles, and HMS 1 cut to 60 cm. The electric-arc melter at Port Qasim takes HMS 1&2 80:20 and shredded in volume. Re-rollers buy plate, rail and re-rollable sections, which since June 2025 pay 5 per cent duty against nil for melting grades, so the grade on the inspection certificate has to match the material in the box.

What inspection and certificates are required?

Pakistan's Import Policy Order requires a pre-shipment inspection certificate from an approved agency for compressed and loose scrap, confirming the material is scrap free of explosives, ammunition, radioactive material and hazardous waste, plus a radiation-free certificate and the certificate of origin naming the yard. Buyers' banks write those documents into the LC; we do not arrange shipments without them.

Does CBIL work UAE scrap into Pakistan?

Not while the UAE's temporary export ban on ferrous, copper and aluminium scrap is in force, from 10 June to 8 October 2026 and renewing unless cancelled. The 760,000 t a year that came from there is being replaced from the UK, Europe and North America, which is the supply we broker.

Indian Ocean · Pakistan

Ferrous Scrap Suppliers CFR Karachi and Port Qasim, Pakistan

Shredded, HMS and bundles for the induction furnaces and electric-arc melters of Karachi and Punjab

Pakistan declared 2,633,200 t of HS 7204 ferrous scrap imports in 2024, worth USD 1.20 billion at an average USD 455 per tonne. The United Kingdom supplied 632,100 t, the United States 207,500 t, Poland 79,500 t and Canada 78,500 t, and the United Arab Emirates 759,800 t, a source that has been closed since 10 June 2026 by the UAE's temporary ban on ferrous, copper and aluminium scrap exports, which runs to 8 October 2026 and renews unless cancelled. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics put the July 2024 to June 2025 year at 2.79 million tonnes and USD 1.27 billion, and December 2025 arrivals of 394,135 t were the highest monthly figure in years. The buyers are the induction-furnace and electric-arc melters at Port Qasim, in Karachi's SITE and Landhi estates and around Lahore, whose furnaces run on shredded scrap, HMS and bundles, and the re-rollers who take re-rollable plate and rail. The June 2025 budget cut customs duty on melting scrap (HMS, shredded, bundles) from 3 per cent to nil, removed the 2 per cent additional duty and set a separate 5 per cent rate for re-rollable scrap, so grade classification at the port matters more than it did.

CBIL brokers ISRI 210/211 shredded, HMS 1&2 (80:20 and 90:10), No. 1 busheling and bundles, and plate and structural scrap, from UK, Irish, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, US East Coast and Canadian yards, in 20-foot containers on liner services to Karachi and Port Qasim and, for the larger melters, in Handysize bulk parcels. Every shipment carries the pre-shipment inspection certificate that Pakistan's Import Policy Order requires for compressed and loose scrap from an approved inspection agency, a radiation-free certificate, and a declaration that the material is free of explosives, ammunition and sealed units; the yard of origin is named on the certificate of origin. Ex-EU and UK shredded traded at USD 400 to 410 per tonne CFR Port Qasim in March 2026, as a market reference. A requirement that states the buyer, the grade, containers or bulk, the monthly tonnage and the LC bank gets a firm answer; one without them gets a question first.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices scrap metal freight in bulk and containers on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Declared imports, 2024: 2,633,200 t, USD 1.20 bn (FY 2024-25: 2.79 Mt, USD 1.27 bn)
Open origins, 2024: United Kingdom 24% · United States 8% · Poland 3% · Canada 3% (UAE 29%, export ban since 10 Jun 2026)
Grades: Shredded ISRI 210/211 · HMS 1&2 80:20 and 90:10 · busheling and bundles · plate and structural · re-rollable
Import duty since June 2025: Melting scrap 0% customs duty (was 3%), additional duty removed; re-rollable scrap 5%
Form: 20-ft containers on liner services; Handysize bulk for the largest melters

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

Containers or bulk into Karachi?: Containers. Pakistani melters buy shredded and HMS in 20-foot boxes of 24 to 27 t on liner services from the UK, the Continent and the US East Coast, calling off 20 to 200 boxes a month; that is how most of the 2.6 million tonnes arrives. Handysize bulk parcels of 20,000 to 30,000 t suit only the two or three largest furnaces and need a berth window at Port Qasim. Tell us your monthly melt and we size the programme.
Which grades do the furnaces want?: Induction furnaces want dense, clean charge: shredded (ISRI 210/211), busheling and bundles, and HMS 1 cut to 60 cm. The electric-arc melter at Port Qasim takes HMS 1&2 80:20 and shredded in volume. Re-rollers buy plate, rail and re-rollable sections, which since June 2025 pay 5 per cent duty against nil for melting grades, so the grade on the inspection certificate has to match the material in the box.
What inspection and certificates are required?: Pakistan's Import Policy Order requires a pre-shipment inspection certificate from an approved agency for compressed and loose scrap, confirming the material is scrap free of explosives, ammunition, radioactive material and hazardous waste, plus a radiation-free certificate and the certificate of origin naming the yard. Buyers' banks write those documents into the LC; we do not arrange shipments without them.
Does CBIL work UAE scrap into Pakistan?: Not while the UAE's temporary export ban on ferrous, copper and aluminium scrap is in force, from 10 June to 8 October 2026 and renewing unless cancelled. The 760,000 t a year that came from there is being replaced from the UK, Europe and North America, which is the supply we broker.

Sources

UN Comtrade, reporter 586 (Pakistan), HS 7204, imports, 2024: world 2,633,200 t, USD 1,197.2 million, USD 455/t; UAE 759,800 t; United Kingdom 632,100 t at USD 445; USA 207,500 t at USD 521; Poland 79,500 t; Canada 78,500 t (desk pull of the public preview API, 28 Sep 2026).
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, trade in goods FY2025 vs FY2024 (table republished by the Pakistan Business Council): iron and steel scrap 2.79 million t, USD 1.27 billion.
SteelOrbis, 21 Jan 2026, 'Pakistan's scrap imports up 20.3% in Dec 2025 from Nov': December 2025 imports 394,135 t, USD 196.18 million, up 10.2% year on year.
BIR, 'Dubai Customs announces temporary export ban on selected industrial waste and scrap materials': UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade Ministerial Decision No. 105 of 2026 / Dubai Customs Notice 13/2026, ban on HS 7204, 7404 and 7602 scrap exports 10 June to 8 October 2026, auto-renewing unless cancelled.
BigMint, 17 Jun 2025, 'Pakistan: Budget FY'26 provides relief on scrap import duties': customs duty on melting scrap (HMS, shredded, bundled) cut from 3% to 0%; 2% additional customs duty removed; re-rollable scrap 5%; billets 11% to 5%; January-April 2025 imports 1.02 million t.
Ministry of Commerce, Import Policy Order 2022 (SRO 545(I)/2022): metal scrap in unshredded, compressed or loose form to be accompanied by a pre-shipment inspection certificate from an approved inspection and certification agency; radioactive material requires PNRA clearance; scrap from auto parts prohibited (Appendix C).
SteelOrbis, 11 Mar 2026, 'Pakistan's import scrap prices rise in fresh ex-EU scrap bookings': ex-EU/UK shredded USD 405-410/t CFR, deals at USD 400-405/t CFR Qasim for 1,000-5,000 t lots; no UAE offers (market reference only, not a CBIL quote).
Melter profiles (UK and European scrap as main feed; induction furnaces 20-45 t; EAF at Port Qasim) are from the companies' own sites and published rating reports; none is a CBIL counterparty.