en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mining and trading company Glencore is offering a cargo of deep-sea ferrous scrap from the EU, scheduled for shipment to Turkey in June, through an exporter in the Baltic region. This is seen by market participants as a signal of a structural shift in the global steel and scrap markets.
The exporter has reached an agreement with the Port of Gdansk in Leba, Poland, to strengthen its export logistics and cargo handling capabilities for deep-sea scrap shipments. The exporter entered the Turkish market in 2023, having previously shipped smaller batches of 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes of Mediterranean cargo mainly to destinations like Morocco. Shipments to Turkey, typically around 20,000 tonnes, require stronger financing and freight management capabilities. A scrap trader in the Baltic region said: "Deep-sea scrap trading is highly capital-intensive. Cargo consolidation, freight exposure, and payment cycles require strong financial backing, and this is where a company like Glencore can significantly scale up operations."
Turkey is the world's largest importer of ferrous scrap and a region dense with electric arc furnace steelmaking, importing over 18 to 20 million tonnes of scrap annually under normal market conditions. Deep-sea cargoes from the US, EU, Baltic region, and UK are crucial for flat and long steel production. As global steel producers accelerate decarbonization and shift towards the electric arc furnace route, Turkey's strategic position is further elevated. A Turkish steel market participant stated: "For EAF producers, scrap availability is becoming as important as the demand for iron ore or coking coal is for blast furnace mills. Stable access to high-quality scrap is now directly linked to competitiveness in the green steel market."
Industry insiders believe that pressure from the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and stricter environmental compliance requirements are forcing steel producers to prioritize low-carbon metallic inputs. Scrap is no longer seen as a recycling by-product, but as the core metallic input for future steelmaking. The involvement of large commodity houses is driving the traditionally fragmented, relationship-driven scrap trade towards professionalization and institutionalization. Glencore's approach mirrors its model in coal, copper, and nickel markets, integrating business through financing, logistics control, supply sourcing, and long-term customer relationships. An EU ferrous scrap supplier said: "Large commodity companies are starting to view scrap as a strategic transition commodity, not just a secondary steel raw material. Whoever controls future scrap flows may gain influence over the low-carbon steel supply chain."
As steel producers in Europe, Turkey, India, Southeast Asia, and North America pursue carbon reduction targets, demand for low-emission metallic inputs like scrap and direct reduced iron is expected to structurally increase. Simultaneously, tightening global export regulations, waste shipment restrictions, and resource security policies could limit the free flow of scrap. A metals trader in Singapore said: "The market is gradually moving towards a situation where scrap security becomes a strategic issue. Large trading houses want to secure supply channels ahead of further intensifying competition." Glencore's entry into the scrap market comes after merger talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore failed to materialize earlier this year, highlighting the focus of global mining and commodity companies on future-facing metals and decarbonization-related raw materials.
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