South Africa's iron ore exports dropped in Nov '14

Author: Paul Ploumis
29 Dec 2014 Last updated at 02:22:53 GMT
KAMPALA (Scrap Monster): The South African iron ore exports dropped marginally during the month of November this year. However, the cumulative exports during the initial eleven months of the year were up slightly, according to latest data released by government sources.

According to data, the country's iron ore exports totaled 4.52 million tons in November this year. The exports during the month were 14.4% lower when compared with the exports during the same month a year ago. The South African iron ore exports had totaled 5.28 million tons during November 2013.

The largest export destination of South African iron ore was China. The exports to China totaled 1.81 million tons during November, accounting for almost 40% of the total South African iron ore exports during the month. China has been the largest export market for South African iron ore for the past two years.

The cumulative iron ore exports by the country during the initial eleven months of the year witnessed slight improvement over the previous year. The South African iron ore exports totaled 53.2 million tons during Jan-Nov period this year, marginally up by nearly 1.9% when compared with the exports during the corresponding eleven month period last year.

The imports of South African iron ore by China during the period from January to November this year totaled 31.89 million tons. The imports by the country averaged at $104.60 per ton.

The country's iron ore exports are projected to exceed 58 million tons during the whole year 2014.