Second-hand goods dealers are closing operations nationwide due to price disputes and weighing practices

Scrap metal traders across Nigeria have embarked on a 15-day warning strike following a dispute with an iron smelting company over the price and measurement of scrap material.

The industrial action, declared by the National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers of Nigeria, began on Thursday, October 1, 2026, with the association directing its members nationwide to suspend the supply of scrap metal to steel producing companies.

The National Vice President of the association, Aminu Hassan Soja, announced the decision at a press conference in Kano on Thursday.

“We are holding this press conference to explain to journalists about our attacks. We call on our members nationwide to carry out warning attacks for 15 days, starting today, Thursday, October 1, 2026,” he said.

Soja said the action was prompted by what the association described as unfair treatment by companies involved in iron smelting and steel bar production.

According to him, dealers are increasingly dissatisfied with alleged arbitrary price adjustments, disputes over weighing methods and other practices that they claim are causing significant financial losses.

He said the association would completely stop the supply of scrap materials to the affected companies during the warning strike period.

Soja accused several iron smelting companies of reducing the agreed value of scrap iron after dealers had delivered the material.

He said the practice had caused huge losses to second-hand goods traders, and the financial impact on individual consignments sometimes reached millions of naira.

“They lower our prices every day causing a lot of losses to our customers. In one truck, we lose about three to four million naira every day,” he said.

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The association’s national vice president also attributed some of the pricing challenges to developments in international markets.

He said dealers had been told that global market conditions and geopolitical tensions had affected demand and contributed to overstocks in some markets, making cheaper raw materials available for import.

However, he questioned why such a development should result in losses for local scrap traders without any reduction in prices of finished steel products.

“Why should developments like this be used to inflict losses on local scrap metal traders while the reduction in raw material costs is not reflected in the price of finished steel products?” he asked.

Another major issue raised by the association is the method used by some steel companies to determine the weight of scrap metal supplied by dealers.

Soja alleged that dealers sometimes found significant discrepancies between the quantities shipped and the weights recorded at the company’s facilities.

He cited examples where materials believed to amount to a full tonne were allegedly recorded at a much lower weight after being weighed by the purchasing company.

“If we sell 1,000kg to them, that means 1,000kg becomes one ton. If we weigh it, it turns out that a kilogram weighs 600kg or 700kg. The highest we can get is 750kg,” he said.

The association said the disputed weighing practices further exacerbated tensions between scrap traders and steel producers.

Scrap dealers also expressed concerns about the quality and specifications of reinforcing bars produced by several steel manufacturers.

Soja accused that there were manufacturers who changed the dimensions of iron rods, causing products to be sold below specifications, which according to him could be below the specified size.

He warned that any compromise in reinforcement material specifications could have consequences for the construction industry, particularly on projects where the strength and dimensions of steel reinforcement are critical.

Therefore, the association called on the Federal Government to intervene in the dispute and facilitate discussions between scrap traders and iron smelting companies.

Soja said the dispute not only impacts second-hand goods traders but also threatens the livelihoods of young Nigerians working in the sector.

“These companies cause many young people to lose their jobs. You can see, apart from agriculture, we are a country that absorbs a lot of labor. There are millions of young people who work in the second-hand goods industry,” he added.

The association stated that the 15-day warning strike will continue as announced, pending intervention and resolution of issues raised with steel producers.