The resumption of scrap metal export is basically a Cabinet decision away, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Reginald Budhan, indicated last night. Speaking at a forum hosted by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) at the Holy Cross Church hall in Kingston, Budhan said that the resumption was only awaiting Cabinet approval and a budgetary decision. “Given the important factors, we cannot ignore this sector,” he told the forum held to promote CaPRI’s “Ten Steps to A Scrap Metal Solution”, which deal with basic steps towards resuming export of scrap metal. They were presented by Dr Damien King, CaPRI’s executive director. An indefinite ban on widescale scrap metal exports was introduced last November, due to the incidence of theft of public and private infrastructure. Scrap metal thieves stole billions of dollars of metal between 2008 and 2011.