Friday, October 08,
Iron ore exports in August fell by 35.55 per cent to 4.38 million tonnes mainly due to the ban imposed by mineral-rich Karnataka on iron ore shipments and the prevalent monsoon season.
“The decline is mainly due to the Karnataka ban and the monsoon,” Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) Secretary General R K Sharma said.According to the data compiled by industry body FIMI, the country shipped 6.80 million tonnes of iron ore in the same period last year.
India, the world’s third largest iron ore exporter, had produced 218 million tonnes of iron ore in the last fiscal and exported almost half of it. Of the total exports, more than 80 per cent was channelised to China, the world’s largest steel producer. Iron ore is a vital steel making raw material.
Karnataka had during the last quarter announced banning exports of iron ore from some of its ports in an attempt to curb illegal mining of the mineral in the state.On the outlook, Sharma said the demand has improved and so the prices.
“It is hard to predict the demand and price scenario which is mainly dependent on China. But for last few weeks demand and prices of iron ore has improved,” he said.The prices are hovering at USD 145-150 at present, which has fallen from this year’s high of about USD 180 a tonne to USD 80 a tonne, he said.
For the six months ended September 30, 2010, iron ore exports fell by 2.66 per cent to 37.18 million tonnes against the year-ago period, the FIMI data said.
Source: The Hindu
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