Minews - Iran among top importers of Indian iron ore

(Minews) - According to latest trade statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce in India, the iron ore exports by the country dropped sharply during the month of March this year. Huge cuts were seen in export prices too. This is when compared with the same month a year ago.

The iron ore exports by India during March 2015 totaled 804,233 tonnes, sharply down by 56.7% when compared with the exports during same month in 2014. The country had exported 1.857 million tonnes of iron ore during March last year. Also, export prices dropped by 25.8% over the year. The iron ore export prices averaged at $71.4 per tonne in Mar ’15 as against $96.20 per tonne in March 2014. The iron ore exports during the month valued at $27.22 million.

The largest destination of Indian iron ore export was Japan. The Japanese imports totaled 289,813 tonnes, accounting for nearly 36% of the total exports by Canada. The second largest export destination was China with 287,238 tonnes, followed by Iran with 198,159 tonnes. The other importers of iron ore from India during March this year were Oman (27,500 tonnes) and Nepal (1,523 tonnes).

The cumulative iron ore exports by India during the three-month period from January to March in 2015 totaled 1.672 million tonnes. The primary importer of Indian iron ore during the three-month period was China. The imports by China totaled 718,558 tonnes, dropping sharply by nearly 80% when compared with the total imports of 3.561 million tonnes during Jan-Mar ’14. The other key export destinations were Japan (576,712 tonnes, +13.5%) and Iran (198,159 tonnes, +482.5%).

The export price during this period averaged at $63.0 per tonne, dropping by almost one-third when compared with $94.6 per tonne. The total value of exports touched $105.42 million