China’s total imports of iron ore pellets and concentrate dropped 49% y-o-y to 14.7 million tonnes (mn t) in Jan-Jul’21 against 28.58 mn t recorded in the corresponding period last year (CPLY), according to the General Administration of Customs. Imports moved down y-o-y due to sustained crude steel production cuts and decreased demand.
On a m-o-m basis, the country’s imports witnessed a decline of 17% to 1.88 mn t as against 2.25 mn t in Jun’21. The imports are down due to more preference for domestic iron ore in the market.
China, the world’s largest consumer and importer of iron ore, recorded run of mine (ROM) production of 79.93 mn t in Jul’21, up 9% as against 73.02 mn t in Jul, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Yearly output saw an increase, since in Jul’21 output was impacted by Covid-related disruptions.
Imports from India fall 36% y-o-y during Jan-Jul’21
India continued to be the largest iron ore pellet exporter to China in Jul’21 at 1.03 mn t, against 0.6 mn t in Jun’21. The limited domestic consumption during the first lockdown in CY’20 let Indian pellet export shipments hit an all-time high of 2.1 mn t in May’20 when Indian steel mills were running at a low capacity utilisation level.
Iron ore pellet imports from India fell by 36% to 5.4 mn t during Jan-Jul’21 as against 8.42 mn t in CPLY.
Imports from Brazil and Ukraine drop
Seasonal factors such as rainfall and unfavourable weather conditions in Brazil favoured Indian pellet exports. China’s pellet imports from Brazil fell from 3.8 mn t in Jan-Jul’20 to 0.8 mn t in Jan-Jul’21. Iron ore pellet imports from Ukraine fell by 68% to 0.18 mn t in Jul’21 from 0.57 mn t in Jun’21.
Ukraine was the second-largest pellets importing country for China in Jan-Jul’21 with 2.78 mn t. In the same period in CY’20 the volumes were at 5.96 mn t.
China pellet import
Fig in t
Source: SteelMint
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