By Paul Ploumis
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent import statistics released by the Eurostat indicates drastic year-on-year decline in iron ore imports by Spain during April this year. The cumulative ore imports during the first four months of the year too were down considerably when compared with the previous year.
The Spanish iron ore imports in April this year totaled 456,128 tonnes, down significantly by 39.9% when matched with the imports of 758,456 tonnes recorded during the same month last year. Brazil and Canada were the main exporters of iron ore to Spain during the month. These two countries accounted for more than 99% of the total imports by Spain. The shipments from Brazil totaled 305,062 tonnes, valued at $45.965 million. Canada shipped 150,491 tonnes of iron ore to Spain during the month.
Brazil was the leading exporter of agglomerated iron ore to Spain in April 2017. The agglomerated ore imports from Brazil totaled 150,357 tonnes, followed by Russia with 99,662 tonnes. The agglomerated ore imports totaled 250,019 tonnes, declining marginally by 3.7% when matched with the imports of 259,499 tonnes in April last year.
Non-agglomerated ore imports by Spain totaled 206,109 tonnes, down significantly by 58.7% over the previous year. The net value of imports amounted to $15.071 million. Brazil continued to remain as the key seller of non-agglomerated ore to Spain was Canada. The imports from Canada totaled 50,829 tonnes. during the month, exporting 154,705 tonnes at an average price of $70.2 per tonne.
As per Eurostat data, Spain’s combined iron ore imports during the first four months of the year totaled 1.897 million tonnes, down by 15.3% when matched with the imports of 2.239 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding period in 2016. The largest exporter of iron ore to Spain during the four-month period was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 1.245 million tonnes, followed by Canada with 650,653 tonnes.
The agglomerated ore imports during Jan-Apr ’17 totaled 790,332 tonnes. This is marginally lower by 4.7% when matched with the imports of 829,645 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Canada was the key exporter during this period. The imports from the country totaled 481,207 tonnes. In second place was Brazil with supplies totaling 309,025 tonnes.
The non-agglomerated ore imports during the four-month period totaled 1.107 million tonnes. The imports plunged by 21.5% from 1.410 million tonnes last year. The value of imports amounted to $76.088 million at an average of USD 68.7 per tonne. The imports from Brazil totaled 935,956 tonnes, followed by Canada (169,446 tonnes).
