INDEC: Argentina Iron Ore imports dropped 30% in April

By Paul Ploumis 24 Jun 2015 Last updated at 06:43:22 GMT

SAO PAULO (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) of Argentina for the month of April this year indicates sharp decline in iron ore imports by the country. The country’s iron ore imports during the month totaled 351,669 tonnes, 29.7% lower when compared with the imports during the same month a year ago.

The only exporter of iron ore to Argentina during April this year was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 351,669 tonnes. Out of this, imports of non-agglomerated iron ore totaled 169,489 tonnes and those of agglomerated iron ore totaled 182,180 tonnes. The imports of non-agglomerated iron ore from Brazil has dropped slightly by 2% in comparison with the imports during April 2014. The agglomerated iron ore imports have dropped sharply by 44.3% over the previous year.

The import prices averaged at $94.3 per tonne, over 28% lower year-on-year. The total value of imports amounted to $33.17 million, almost 50% lower when compared with the import value of $65.59 million during April 2014.

The cumulative iron ore imports by Argentina during the initial four-month period of the year totaled 1.631 Million tonnes, down by 13.7% when compared with the imports of 1.890 Million tonnes during January to April last year. Brazil accounted for 100% of the iron ore imports by the country during this period.

The average import prices were at $93.5 during the four-month period this year. The total value of imports dropped substantially by 45.7% year-on-year to $152.46 million during Jan-Apr ’15.