By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)

September 02, 2016 10:18:46 PM

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The country’s iron ore imports increased modestly during the month of July this year, says latest statistics released by the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

The country’s iron ore imports totaled 88.399 million tons during the month. This is higher by 2.7% when matched with the imports during the corresponding month last year. The country had imported 86.099 million tons of iron ore during July 2015. However, the total value of imports by the country dropped by nearly 9% over the year from $5.390 billion in July last year to $4.915 billion in July 2016. The average import price too has dropped sharply by 11.2% year-on-year to $55.6 per ton in July this year. The Chinese iron ore imports had averaged at $62.6 per ton in July 2015.

The largest exporter of iron ore to China during the month was Australia. The imports from Australia totaled 53.7 million tons, valued at $2.898 billion. The import prices averaged at $54.0 per ton. Brazil exported 19.662 million tons of iron ore to China during the month. The imports from Brazil were valued at $1.152 billion. The average price of import stood at $58.6 per ton. In third place was South Africa with 3.573 million tons. The total value of imports from the country amounted to $237.09 million. The imports from the country averaged at $66.4 per ton during July this year. The other key exporters of iron ore to China were Chile (2.089 million tons), Iran (1.302 million tons) and Peru (1.2 million tons).

The imports of agglomerated iron ore during July ’16 totaled 1.246 million tons, significantly lower by 57% when compared with the same month a year before. The Chinese agglomerated iron ore imports had totaled 2.908 million tons during July 2015. The value of imports amounted to $98.641 million during Jul ‘16. The import value has dropped sharply by nearly 62% when compared with the previous year. The Chinese iron ore imports were valued at $258.909 million during July 2015. The import prices of agglomerated ore saw considerable decline of 11.1% over the year. The average import price dropped from $89.00 per ton in Jul ‘15 to $79.2 per ton in Jul ‘16.

The largest exporter of agglomerated iron ore to China was Mongolia. The exports from the country totaled 322,000 tons. The value of iron ore imports from Mongolia totaled $27.269 million. The imports averaged at $84.7 per ton. The other key exporters during the month were India (311,000 tons), Ukraine (179,000 tons) and Australia (144,000 tons).

The imports of non agglomerated iron ore totaled 87.153 million tons, accounting for over 98.5% of the total imports. The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by the country grew by 4.8% when matched with 83.191 million tons imported during July 2015. The value of non-agglomerated iron ore imports has dropped marginally by over 6% year-on-year to $4.816 billion from $5.131 billion a year before.

The country imported non-agglomerated iron ore mainly from Australia. The imports from Australia totaled 53.6 million tons at an average price of $53.9 per ton. The value of Australian iron ore imports totaled $2.887 billion. The other primary exporters of non-agglomerated iron ore to China during July this year were Brazil (19.662 million tons), South Africa (3.573 million tons) and Chile (1.980 million tons).