South Korea Iron Ore Import at 71.6 MnT in 2016

South Korea, the third-largest iron ore importer, after China and Japan, have imported 71.6 MnT iron ore in 2016, according to the trade data released by South Korean Customs.

In 2016, iron ore imports have witnessed a downfall of 1.8% Y-o-Y as imports remained at 72.96 MnT in 2015.

In Dec’16, South Korean iron ore imports have witnessed a growth of 6% M-o-M as it was 6.25 MnT in Nov’16. On similar lines, imports have also moved up by 1% Y-o-Y as it was 6.53 MnT in Dec’15.

The non-agglomerated iron ore (lumps and fines) import in 2016 was registered at 68.39 MnT against 69.87 MnT in 2015. In Dec’16, imports were registered at 6.52 MnT, up by 10% M-o-M and 3% Y-o-Y.

The agglomerated ore ( pellets and concentrate) import was registered at 3.23 MnT in 2016 against 3.12 MnT in 2015. In Dec’16, imports were registered at 0.08 MnT, down by 73% M-o-M and 67% Y-o-Y.

Country-wise South Korean iron ore imports in 2016

1. Australia, the largest exporter of iron ore to South Korea exported 52.4 MnT iron ore in 2016 against 5.43 MnT in 2015. In Dec’16, the country exported 5.26 MnT iron ore, up by 7.3% M-o-M and 13.3% Y-o-Y.
2. Brazil, the second largest iron ore exporter has exported 10.57 MnT iron ore in 2016 against 12.90 MnT in 2015. In Dec’16, the country exported 0.88 MnT, up by 54% M-o-M and 10% Y-o-Y to South Korea.
3. South Africa, the third largest iron ore exporter to South Korea has exported 3.67 MnT in 2016 against 4.66 MnT in 2015. In Dec’16, the country exported 0.37 MnT against 0.35 MnT in Nov’16. In Dec’15, the country exported 0.74 MnT iron ore.