Indian iron ore exports in October down 30.4 per cent YoY
24 Nov 2010
India's iron ore exports for October were down 30.4 per cent from a year earlier at 6.4 MT, according to data from a trade body released yesterday, which reflected the effect of an export ban clamped by a key state.
The bulk of Indian exports of iron ore are routed to China, the leader producer of steel. India which is the world's third largest supplier of steel-making raw material exported 9.2MT of the ore in October last year.
This year, exports in the April-October period were down 12.8 per cent from 53.2 MT a year earlier according to data from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI).
Overseas sales have fallen after the southern state of Karnataka clamped a ban on exports in July from 10 ports and stalled ore movement to other ports, to check illegal mining and retain the resource for local use.
About of a quarter of the 100 MT exports of the ore originates from Karnataka.
In another development, yesterday, two Indian iron ore miners said they would challenge the ban on iron ore exports in the country's top court.