Paraguay's copper scrap exports saw explosive growth in the first four months of 2026. According to the Foreign Trade Report of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), shipments of the item “copper waste and scrap” totaled US$ 48.7 million between January and April, a value 136% higher than the US$ 18.5 million shipped in the same period of 2025.
Recycled copper is obtained mainly from discarded electrical cables, motors, and household appliances. On the local market, a kilogram of these residues can easily exceed G. 50,000 at so-called “chatarrerías” (scrap yards).
Gustavo Cohener, manager of Economic Statistics at the BCP, explained that the material is sent to various destinations. “Copper is not one of the country's main export products, but recently we have had shipments to countries such as China, Malaysia, the United States, Singapore, and Vietnam,” he said. According to him, these are products demanded globally for auto parts, electrical grids, electronics, and other uses.
Cohener detailed that copper scrap and waste are typically used, along with small quantities of semi-processed products such as bars, wires, sheets, and accessories. “It is still a small sector, but it is showing interesting dynamism in this period,” he assessed.