Indian Iron Ore Import Falls by 27% in Sept’16

Indian iron ore import has seen a fall of 27% in the month of Sept’16 as Indian iron ore importers kept themselves away from importing due to higher global iron ore prices in the month of Aug’16.

In Sept’16, imports were registered at 550,530 MT against 756,150 MT in Aug’16. However, on Y-o-Y basis, iron ore imports have grown significantly by 75% as 319,000 MT iron ore was imported in Sept’16.

In the first six months of FY17, Indian iron ore imports stood at 2.9 MnT, down by 6.4% Y-o-Y as it was 3.1 MnT during the same period last year.

Iron ore imports in Sept’16 dropped due to higher global prices in the month of Aug’16, which was at USD 61/MT, CFR China.

It is observed that monthly average iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index, which stood at USD 60.5/MT, CFR China in Aug’16, dropped and was recorded at USD 57/MT, CFR China in Sept’16. So, few Gujarat-based iron ore importers booked two imported ore vessels in Oct and Nov months.

In Sept’16, JSW Steel, Essar Steel, and KIOCL bought imported iron ore cargos. JSW Steel imported the highest quantity of iron ore. It is to be noted that JSW Steel has long term contract with Brazil and South Africa to import iron ore.

KIOCL turned out to be the second largest iron ore importer in the month of Sept’16. The pellet maker bought around 72,000 MT iron ore fines from Brazil. The vessel was booked in the month of Jul’16. Another vessel bought by KIOCL was of high-grade fines around 65,000 MT by Iran for its buy-back tender (the pellet maker purchases the high-grade fines, make pellets and ships the respective pellet back to them).

All the imported iron ore shipments bought were from South Africa, Brazil & Iran. In Sep’16, out of the total quantity imported, 333,730 MT (45%) iron ore was from South Africa, 236,0130 MT (43%) from Brazil and 12% from Iran.

Indian iron ore import in Sept’16 

Qty in MT
Provisional data
Source: SteelMint Stats, Customs