South Africa Iron Ore Export Up by 15% in Jul’16

South Africa, the 3rd largest iron ore exporter after Australia and Brazil has exported around 5.93 MnT iron ore in Jul’16, according to the trade data released by South African Customs.

Iron ore exports have witnessed a growth of 15.5 % M-o-M as it was 5.13 MnT in Jun’16. On the contrary, South African iron ore export has fallen by 8.4% on Y-o-Y basis.

In the first seven months of 2016, the country exported 36.5 MnT iron ore, down by 10.7% as it was 40.9 MnT in the same consecutive period last year. In Jul’16,

In Jul’16, the agglomerated iron ore (pellets and concentrate) exports were at 3.51 MnT, while non-agglomerated iron ore (lumps & fines)exports were registered at 2.42 MnT.

1. China, the largest iron ore consumer imports around 60% of South African iron ore exports. In Jul’16 Chinese imports from South Africa have witnessed a growth of 7.8% M-o-M which was 3.59 MnT in Jul’16 and 3.33 MnT in Jun’16. The nation imported around 3.79 MnT iron ore from South Africa in Jul’15.

2. India  turned out to be the second-largest iron ore importer, imported around 0.77 MnT iron ore in Jul’16 as compared to 0.25 MnT in Jun’16. The nation imported very nominal quantity i.e. 0.1 MnT in Jun’15.

3. Japan,the third-largest iron ore importer, imported around 0.57 MnT iron ore in Jul’16, significantly up by 78% as compared to Jun’16. The nation imported 0.32 MnT iron ore in Jun’16 and 0.59 MnT in Jul’15.

4. Hong Kong turned out to be the fourth largest iron ore importer of South African iron ore in Jul’16. South Korea was the fourth largest iron ore importer in June’16. In Jul’16, Hongkong imported 0.34 MnT iron ore, significantly up by 79% as compared to 0.19 MnT in Jun’16. However, on a Y-o-Y basis, Hong Kong iron ore import has registered a growth of 17.2% in Jul’16.

5. South Korea, the fifth largest importer, has reduced its imports by 45% in Jul’16. In Jul’16 the country imported, 0.33 MnT iron ore, half quantity as compared to 0.6 MnT in Jun’16. However, on a Y-o-Y basis, South Korean import has also decreased by around 62% as it was 0.87 MnT in Jul’15.