Iron ore exports fall 28% in first 11 months of this fiscal
13 March 2014 5:09 AM IST
India, once the third largest exporter of iron ore, had exported 17.35 MT of the mineral in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, data released by Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) showed.
‘This is a disturbing trend as exports have declined continuously in last few years due to imposition of export duty. We will continue to persuade the government to withdraw the export duty on iron ore as well as on iron ore pellets,’ FIMI Secretary General R K Sharma said.
He added that this fiscal's iron ore exports are expected to come down by over 20 per cent to about 13.5-14 MT from 18.37 MT in 2012-13.
Paradip (4.6 MT), Vizag (4.46 MT) and Haldia (1.81 MT) are the major ports accounting for the bulk of mineral exports, according to FIMI data.
Indian iron ore exports have been hurt badly in last few years due to mining bans in Goa and Karnataka, leading to a drastic fall in domestic production. Besides, an increase in export duty to 30 per cent on both types of iron ore, lumps and fines, in December 2012, also impacted the sector.
However, China continues to be the biggest export market for Indian iron ore, though the quantity has declined by over 31 per cent to 10.44 MT in April-February. Japan is the second biggest market, where 1.65 MT ore has been shipped during the same period, the data said.
Presently, low grade iron ore (or fine) are being exported from Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as mining is still banned in Goa, while export of the mineral is not permitted from
Karnataka at present.
In last two months, the Goa government auctioned over a million tonne of iron ore, which was already mined before the imposition of ban.
Quality of the auctioned ore of Goa is of low grade and most the auctioned material is expected to be exported in the near future. This may lead to slight increase in iron ore exports as well.
The industry is estimating that India's total iron ore production in the present fiscal will be around 140 MT, almost the same as last year.
NMDC’s April-Feb sales soar 17% on steel cos’ demand
New Delhi: State-owned iron ore miner NMDC's sales rose 17 per cent to 27.43 million tonnes in the first 11 months of the current financial year on higher demand from steel makers.
The country's largest producer of the key steel-making input had sold 23.43 million tonnes of iron ore in the same period of the previous financial year, NMDC said in a statement on Tuesday.
Production increased to 26.42 million tonnes from 23.52 million tonnes.
NMDC, which fixes iron ore prices on a monthly basis, left them unchanged in March at February's levels of Rs 4,500 a tonne for lumps and Rs 2,910 a tonne for fines as global rates fell to an eight-month low. NMDC, which hopes to clock its best-ever sales in the current financial year at over 30 million tonnes, had been facing evacuation problems from its mines in Chattisgarh and Karnataka earlier.
The company's production and sales have never touched 30 million tonnes since it was incorporated in 1958. Output and sales touched 29 million tonnes in 2008-09 and have fallen since then.
Production during the third quarter was 7.3 million tonnes, a growth of more than 36 per cent over the same period last year.
‘This is a disturbing trend as exports have declined continuously in last few years due to imposition of export duty. We will continue to persuade the government to withdraw the export duty on iron ore as well as on iron ore pellets,’ FIMI Secretary General R K Sharma said.
He added that this fiscal's iron ore exports are expected to come down by over 20 per cent to about 13.5-14 MT from 18.37 MT in 2012-13.
Paradip (4.6 MT), Vizag (4.46 MT) and Haldia (1.81 MT) are the major ports accounting for the bulk of mineral exports, according to FIMI data.
Indian iron ore exports have been hurt badly in last few years due to mining bans in Goa and Karnataka, leading to a drastic fall in domestic production. Besides, an increase in export duty to 30 per cent on both types of iron ore, lumps and fines, in December 2012, also impacted the sector.
However, China continues to be the biggest export market for Indian iron ore, though the quantity has declined by over 31 per cent to 10.44 MT in April-February. Japan is the second biggest market, where 1.65 MT ore has been shipped during the same period, the data said.
Presently, low grade iron ore (or fine) are being exported from Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as mining is still banned in Goa, while export of the mineral is not permitted from
Karnataka at present.
In last two months, the Goa government auctioned over a million tonne of iron ore, which was already mined before the imposition of ban.
Quality of the auctioned ore of Goa is of low grade and most the auctioned material is expected to be exported in the near future. This may lead to slight increase in iron ore exports as well.
The industry is estimating that India's total iron ore production in the present fiscal will be around 140 MT, almost the same as last year.
NMDC’s April-Feb sales soar 17% on steel cos’ demand
New Delhi: State-owned iron ore miner NMDC's sales rose 17 per cent to 27.43 million tonnes in the first 11 months of the current financial year on higher demand from steel makers.
The country's largest producer of the key steel-making input had sold 23.43 million tonnes of iron ore in the same period of the previous financial year, NMDC said in a statement on Tuesday.
Production increased to 26.42 million tonnes from 23.52 million tonnes.
NMDC, which fixes iron ore prices on a monthly basis, left them unchanged in March at February's levels of Rs 4,500 a tonne for lumps and Rs 2,910 a tonne for fines as global rates fell to an eight-month low. NMDC, which hopes to clock its best-ever sales in the current financial year at over 30 million tonnes, had been facing evacuation problems from its mines in Chattisgarh and Karnataka earlier.
The company's production and sales have never touched 30 million tonnes since it was incorporated in 1958. Output and sales touched 29 million tonnes in 2008-09 and have fallen since then.
Production during the third quarter was 7.3 million tonnes, a growth of more than 36 per cent over the same period last year.
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