Indian chrome ore dispatches increased substantially by 66% m-o-m in Oct ’21 on higher demand from the major ferro chrome smelters. These smelters had good inquiries from China and other South East Asian countries.
The dispatches from OMC showed a hike of 351% m-o-m in Oct’21, but it was mostly due to its record low dispatches in Sept’21. In September, the dispatches were particularly low from OMC, on lower production. Their production of chrome ore in September fell by 85% due to monsoon-led disruptions. Thus, after production picked up in October, dispatches increased. However, this is yet to return to normal levels of more than 100 kilo tonnes (kt).
In October, producers saw increased demand from Indonesia and Japan, specially after stainless steel major JFE Steel of Japan increased its prices for stainless steel plates. Traders also anticipated Chinese major Tsingshan would increase its tender prices following Chinese production cuts and increased prices in the spot market. This increased exports from India, particularly in the second half of the month.
Thus, with increasing exports, the major ferro chrome smelters also increased their chrome ore procurement. However, the continuously declining profit margins have kept the smaller producers at a bay.
Procurement trend
Out of the two merchant suppliers of chrome ore — OMC and Tata Steel — the latter remained the largest supplier, with major volumes going for captive consumption followed by sales to IMFA, Visa Steel, Nava Bharat Ventures, Rohit Ferro Tech, FACOR and Aarti Steels. IMFA and Visa Steel increased their chrome ore procurements to more than double from last month.
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