[Iron Ore] South Africa iron ore exports declined in May 2015

By  Paul Ploumis 20 Jul 2015  Last updated at  02:43:00 GMT

KAMPALA (Scrap Monster): The South African iron ore exports dropped marginally during the month of May this year. Also, the cumulative exports during the initial five months of the year too dropped, according to latest released government data.

According to data, the country’s iron ore exports totaled 6.40 million tons in May this year. The exports during the month were 2.3% lower when compared with the exports during the same month a year ago. The South African iron ore exports had totaled 6.55 million tons during May 2014.

The largest export destination of South African iron ore was China. The exports to China totaled 4.19 million tons during May, accounting for more than 65% 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 export price to China averaged at US$61.60/ton during the month.

The second largest destination of South African iron ore exports was India. The imports of South African iron ore by India totaled 724,000 tons during May ’15. The average price of import stood at US$67.10/ton.

The cumulative iron ore exports by the country during the initial five months of the year witnessed slight decline over the previous year. The South African iron ore exports totaled 27.24 million tons during January- May period this year, marginally down by nearly 4.4% when compared with the exports during the corresponding five-month period last year. The exports by the country had totaled 28.49 million tons during Jan-May ’14.