Zhangjiagang imported a total of 2.236m tons of waste steel during the first six months of 2009, up more than 1,000 per cent year-on-year, according to the city’s inspection and quarantine bureau. Total imports were valued at US$630m, up 518 per cent.

Since the second half of last year, the worldwide economic downturn has caused the price of waste steel to plummet. In response, some locally-based importers such as Shagang, Fengli and Puxiang have started buying aggressively, leading to surge of imports in Zhangjiagang.