Taiwan’s Iron Ore imports surged in Oct '14

Author: Paul Ploumis
TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the Taiwanese Customs Authorities for the month of October 2014 indicates sharp rise in iron ore imports by the country. Taiwan’s iron ore imports during the month totaled 2.083 Million tonnes, higher by 23.2% when compared with the imports during the same month a year ago. The import prices averaged at $84.9 per tonne, 13.8% lower year-on-year.

The largest exporter of iron ore to Taiwan during October this year was Australia. The imports from Australia totaled 1.452 Million tonnes, accounting for nearly 70% of the total imports by Taiwan during the month. The second largest source of iron ore import by the country was Brazil with 543,711 tonnes, followed by Canada (87,476 tonnes).

The cumulative iron ore imports by Taiwan during the initial ten-month period of the year 2014 totaled 19.150 Million tonnes, slightly higher by 2.8% when matched with the imports of 18.630 Million tonnes during January to October in 2013. The average import prices were at $114.2 per tonne during 2014, dropping sharply by 13.8% when compared with the average import price of $132.4 per ton during Jan-Oct ’13.

The top three exporters of iron ore to Taiwan during the ten-month period were Australia (13.054 Million tonnes), Brazil (4.939 Million tonnes) and Canada (955,256 tonnes).