China recorded a 61% m-o-m drop in its pig iron imports in Sept’21. The volumes stood at 0.05 million tonnes (mn t) in Sept’21 as compared to 0.13 mn t in Aug’21, data maintained with SteelMint shows.
The volumes decreased sharply mainly due to a decline in shipments from Brazil, India, Oman and Ukraine.
Oman, Russia leading exporters
Oman and Russia occupied the top exporters’ position in Sept’21. Oman’s pig iron exports to China stood at 0.02 mn t, down significantly by 50% m-o-m. Russia, too, exported 0.02 mn t of pig iron to China in Sept’21, marking a significant recovery.
Oman, Russia and Indonesia were the only exporters to China in September.
Nil imports from India
Surprisingly, India which was the top exporter of pig iron to China in Aug’21, but recorded nil exports to China in Sept’21. The shipments from India remained less active owing to the bid-offer disparities in the tenders floated in August and comparatively better realisations in the domestic market.
After falling to a low of INR 37,900/tonne (t) on 9 Sept’21, steel grade pig iron prices started heading north, touching INR 42,100/t ($561) exw-Durgapur levels in the last week of Sept’21. Hike in met coke and coking coal prices boosted domestic pig iron prices in India. With domestic prices rising sharply, export bookings have slowed down.
China’s imports in Jan-Sept’21 drop 60%
China’s pig iron import volumes in Jan-Sept’21 amounted to 1.52 mn t, a y-o-y decrease of 60% as against 3.85 mn t in Jan-Sept’20, as per SteelMint’s data.
Considering on y-o-y basis, Brazil was the top exporter at 0.44 mn t, followed by Russia and India at 0.38 and 0.33 mn t, respectively.
Leave a Reply