France reports 120% surge in Iron Ore imports during October

By Carolina Curiel

PICARDIE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by Eurostat indicate that iron ore imports by France surged higher significantly during the month of October last year. However, the imports during the ten-month period from January to October in 2016 were down marginally by 9.3% when matched with the previous year.

France’s iron ore imports during October this year totaled 1.191 million tonnes, rising significantly by 120.7% when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The exports had totaled 539,859 tonnes during October 2015. The average price of export increased sharply by 21.6% to $56.0 per tonne when matched with the average export price of $46.0 per tonne during October last year. Also, the total value of exports surged higher by nearly 168% from $24.857 million to $66.704 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during the month was Canada. The imports of Canadian iron ore by the country totaled 583,408 tonnes, accounting for nearly 49% of the total monthly imports by France in October 2016. The imports from Canada averaged at $56.9 per tonne. The value of imports totaled $33.209 million. The other key exporters of iron ore to France during the month were Brazil (471,892 tonnes), Mauritania (79,329 tonnes), Liberia (46,470 tonnes) and Turkey (5,005 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during October ’16 totaled 194,839 tonnes, increasing considerably by 137% over the previous year. Canada was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to France during the month with 110,762 tonnes. The other main source of import of agglomerated iron ore by France was Brazil (84,077 tonnes).

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by France totaled 996,640 tonnes, increasing sharply by 117.8% from 457,617 tonnes in October 2015. Canada was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports of Canadian agglomerated iron ore by France totaled 472,646 tonnes. The other key exporting countries were Brazil (387,815 tonnes), Mauritania (79,329 tonnes), Liberia (46,470 tonnes) and Turkey (5,005 tonnes). The average price of monthly exports was up slightly by 8.1% during the month to $50.8 per tonne. The non-agglomerated exports were valued at $50.658 million.

The iron ore imports by France during January to October last year totaled 11.567 million tonnes, still down by nearly 9.35% when compared with the imports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 12.752 million tonnes during Jan-October 2015. The average price of imports dropped by nearly 7% to $52.5 per tonne when matched with the average import price of $56.3 per tonne during the initial ten-month period in 2015. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 15.4% year-on-year from $717.931 million to $607.488 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during the ten-month period was Brazil. The imports of Brazilian iron ore by France totaled 5.246 million tonnes, accounting for nearly 45% of the total imports by France. The imports from Brazil averaged at $48.6 per tonne. The value of Brazilian iron ore imports totaled $254.849 million. The other key exporters to France during Jan-October ’16 were Canada (4.594 million tonnes), Liberia (598,428 tonnes) and Mauritania (562,435 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-October ’16 totaled 2.528 million tons, rising marginally by 2.9% over the previous year. Canada was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to France during this period. The imports from Canada totaled 1.545 million tonnes, followed by Brazil with 451,094 tonnes.

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by France totaled 9.039 million tonnes during the ten-month period from January to October this year, dropping sharply by 12.2% from 10.295 million tonnes during the same period a year before. Brazil was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during this period. The imports of Brazilian agglomerated iron ore totaled 4.795 million tonnes. The other key exporters were Canada (3.049 million tonnes), Liberia (598,428 tonnes) and Mauritania (327,485 tonnes). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 9.4% to $46.4 per tonne. The non-agglomerated exports were valued at $419.666 million.