By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE scrap copper trade has become a lucrative business on Saipan because the price of the metal continues to increase and is now up by over 700 percent, according to a recycling firm operator.
Files of inbound shipment receipts at Ericco/Maeda Joint Venture show that the prices of the different types of copper as classified by scrap dealers dramatically increased in October last year.
It increased again last month and, according to recycling firm operator Eric Cruz, the price will increase up to probably about 800 percent in the next few months.
“There is a great demand for copper in China where the economy is booming. And to get copper directly from mining is very expensive,” Cruz said.
Those in the technology industry see recycled copper as the better option, he added.
From $1,200 per ton last year, which was not far from the price of other scrap metal, the price of the copper being used by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. rose to $5,800 per ton.
Cruz said there are at least four classifications of scrap copper wire: Copper No. 1, which is the type used by CUC; copper tubing which are found in radiators, air-conditioning units and refrigerators; Copper No. 2; and brass yellow.
Copper No. 1, Cruz said, is considered the highest class among scrap copper wire found on island, and is followed by copper tubing which is now worth $5,100 per ton.
Copper No. 2 is bought at $4,200 per ton and the cheapest is brass yellow which is worth $3,600.
Recycling firms all over the world are paying a uniform price when buying scrap copper, said Cruz, adding that it is based on the London market.
Cruz said his company is disclosing these aspects of their business because they want to be as transparent as possible especially when recycling firms on island have gained notoriety in the wake of rampant copper wire thievery.
He showed this reporter around his shop and pointed out how the copper scrap wire is processed before it is loaded into a container van together with other scrap metal.
Cruz said they were able to ship out half a ton of assorted types of scrap copper which were sold to their Basula Produkto shop in Lower Base in the past three months.
Business is “kind of slow,” he said, compared to when copper wire theft was not yet rampant.”
He admitted that copper wire thefts have deeply affected his business, especially when he voluntarily cooperated with the authorities to help deter more thefts.
Cruz said he complied with the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation which is helping CNMI authorities probe copper wire thefts.
He said the FBI visited his shop late last year and suggested that he install surveillance cameras in and around his shop.
They now have four surveillance cameras at the recycling shop, Cruz added.
This reporter visited two of the five other recycling firms on Saipan — Sam Kor Corp., also in Lower Base, and Huang Zheng Corp. in Puerto Rico, the owner of which was arrested two weeks ago for buying stolen copper wire.
No monitoring devices are installed at either shop.
Recently, a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to amend Public Law 15-36 which regulates scrap metal trades in CNMI.
House Bill 15-200 seeks to add a new section to the existing law to provide a 45-day waiting period for the shipment of scrap metals from the island.
The bill states that “No recycled product shall be removed from the commonwealth before 45 days after the date of purchase by the recycler. The Department of Public Safety and the Division of Customs shall investigate shipments of recycled product for compliance with this act and other commonwealth law.”
Only garment products are being inspected during outbound shipment at the sea ports, according to Commonwealth Ports Authority’s Saipan port manager Lee Cabrera last week.