Live Scrap Rates in Karachi

Karachi, Pakistan's largest metropolis and principal seaport, operates the country's most diverse and highest-volume scrap market, absorbing material from its shipbreaking yards in Gadani (nearby Balochistan coast), automobile-manufacturing plants, textile mills, petrochemical refineries, and a port-driven import-export economy. The SITE, Korangi, Landhi, and North Karachi industrial areas collectively employ millions of workers whose production activities generate scrap on a scale unmatched anywhere else in Pakistan. Karachi's scrap market also serves as the national price-setter, with rates here rippling outward to every other city.

Ship-plate steel from Gadani breaking operations anchors the ferrous market at PKR 98–118/kg, while auto-body pressed steel from assembly-plant rejects fetches PKR 95–112/kg. Copper cathode scrap from refinery electrical systems commands PKR 1,900–2,200/kg—the highest benchmark in the country. Aluminium from beverage-can recycling, a large-scale Karachi industry, trades at PKR 380–450/kg in baled form, and stainless-steel scrap from the city's massive food-processing sector averages PKR 155–210/kg.

Navigating Karachi's sprawling scrap market requires knowing the specialised zones: Shershah is the hub for general ferrous and ship-plate, Lyari handles auto scrap, and SITE's internal markets cater to industrial-grade non-ferrous. Sellers should always weigh material independently before entering a dealer's yard, as scale discrepancies in high-volume markets are a documented concern. For shipbreaking-origin material, ensuring that asbestos and hazardous coatings have been removed prior to sale is both a legal obligation and a practical necessity for achieving clean-scrap pricing.