Tuesday, December 14,
Iron ore exports from India’s key Karnataka state are likely to fall 67 percent in the year to end in March 2011 due to a ban on exports that has hit supplies to the global market and hardened prices, a trade body official said on Monday.
“We are losing about 2.5 million tonnes of exports every month,” David Pichamuthu, director, southern region of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), told Reuters on the sidelines of a steel raw materials conference.
“We are losing production too and people might be laid off. Some of the mines are keeping skeletal staff.” The southern state that produces about 45 million tonnes of iron ore a year of which it exports 30 million tonnes banned exports from 10 ports and stopped its transport to other ports in July, citing a drive against illegal mining and the need to preserve the steel-making ingredient for local use.
Miners appealed to the Karnataka High Court against the order, but lost the case in November when the court upheld the state government’s order and observed that it would take six months to root out illegal mining.
In 2009/10, India exported 117.37 million tonnes of iron ore from a total output of 226 million tonnes, but this year, exports are seen declining by a quarter or more due to the ban in Karnataka.
Source: Reuters
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