MIDDLE EAST SCRAP MERCHANTS UNFAZED BY DRUMS OF WAR

摘要

Steel scrap merchants in the Middle East appear unruffled by the debate raging about a possible attack on Iraq and say that trade and prices remain stable. While a few countries in the region have placed restrictions or bans on ferrous scrap exports - largely to help domestic producers - the threat of war against Iraq is simply not a consideration, merchants told MB. "Business carried on as normal during the Gulf war, so why should this be any different?" said one merchant. But some merchants believe there are thousands of tonnes of military scrap lying in the deserts of Kuwait, and fears about radioactive contamination remain. "A lot of the missiles that hit tanks and other machinery were uranium-tipped, so that kind of scrap has to be left for about 30 years before it can be touched," one merchant commented.