Page 26 from: November 2013

26 November 2013

secondary metals industry of which he had ‘a

great understanding’.

When politely asked to ‘sing for his supper’, the

former LME leading light did not disappoint,

providing a characteristically frank and humour-

filled view on key issues relating to the non-fer-

rous scrap sector. Most notably, he insisted that

‘the world does not need scrap contracts’ given

that the markets were functioning effectively

without them. For a forward/futures market to

work, he had earlier contended, ‘it has to solve a

problem’ and there has to be recognition within

an industry that ‘there is a problem to be solved’.

In this same context, the guest speaker also iden-

tified the need not only for ‘contractual integrity’,

such that no user adopted the attitude that he or

she could walk away from a responsibility, but

also for the market to be open to ‘different users

with different motivations’, including speculators

who provided much-needed liquidity.

In an aside that would have interested the fer-

rous sector, Abbott still anticipated the develop-

ment of a functioning steel futures contract. ‘It

will be delivered and will be based around bil-

let,’ he suggested.

‘No-nonsense’ approach
Abbott was unequivocal in his support and

admiration for the metals recycling industry.

The scrap sector in general boasted a greater

concentration of ‘people trading with their own

money and assets’, resulting in a ‘no-nonsense’

approach to business that was ‘very, very

refreshing’. The scrap industry was also the big-

gest user of sophisticated forward/futures mar-

kets and was ‘utterly conversant with them’, he

added.

Abbott went on to underline the ‘critical role’

of the BIR as a single place for holding targeted

discussions. A regular visitor to, and speaker at,

BIR Conventions over the past three decades,

he praised this ‘open and welcoming forum’.

The other guest speaker in Warsaw was Alexey

Alipchenko, head of the Representative Office

of CIS, Central Asia and the Baltic Countries at

the Trimet Group. He suggested Russia’s alu-

minium scrap export tax would be cut in incre-

ments from 40% to 10% over the coming few

years in response to the country joining the

World Trade Organization. But with talk of the

introduction of an ‘ecological tax’ to protect

against overseas shipments, Russia might not

become a major exporter of scrap even after the

tax has been lowered to 10%, he suggested.

B I R W A R S A W

Peter Dahmen: non-ferrous mar-
kets ‘are still characterised by low
volumes and reduced margins’.

Sidney Lazarus: South Africa’s
scrap export directive now in
force.

Non-Ferrous

Abbott: ‘The world does
not need scrap contracts’

Only a select group of individuals has been presented with a BIR world recycling
organisation Certificate of Merit. This short list

was extended by one in Warsaw as Eurometrec

president Robert Voss conferred this coveted

accolade on Martin Abbott who, until recently,

had been ceo of the London Metal Exchange.

According to the citation, Abbott was receiving

this prestigious recognition for the ‘continuous

support and commitment’ shown towards a

The BIR Non-Ferrous Metals Round-Table in Warsaw featured a num-

ber of highlights, notably the official launch of a study conducted by

CRU Strategies into copper and aluminium scrap flows; the giving of a

gift to the board’s outgoing senior vice president Peter Dahmen in

recognition of his contribution over many years to the divisional board;

and the relatively rare event of a BIR Certificate of Merit presentation.

RI-9-BIR Non-Ferrous.indd 26 11-11-13 09:57