By Paul Ploumis
July 06, 2017 12:30:04 PM
SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The iron ore imports by Japan registered 4% jump year-on-year during the month of May this year, says the latest trade statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The country’s iron ore imports totaled 10.737 million tonnes during May 2017, higher by 4.3% when matched with the imports during the corresponding month in 2016. The Japanese iron ore imports had totaled 10.291 million tonnes during May 2016. Meantime, the total value of imports by the country reported sharp 67% jump over the year from Yen 57.072 billion in May 2016 to Yen 95.433 billion in May this year. The average import price too has surged higher significantly by over 60% year-on-year to Yen 8,888 per MT in May ’17. The Japanese iron ore imports had averaged at Yen 5,546 per MT in May last year.
Australia was the largest exporter of iron ore to Japan during the month. The imports from the country totaled 6.181 million tonnes, valued at Yen 52.998 billion. The import prices averaged at $76.89 per tonne. Brazil exported 2.859 million tonnes of iron ore to Japan during the month. The imports from Brazil were valued at Yen 25.947 billion. The average price of import stood at $81.37 per tonne. In third place was Canada with 594,071 tonnes. The total value of imports from the country amounted to Yen 5.958 billion. The imports from the country averaged at $89.92 per tonne during May this year. The other main exporters of iron ore to Japan were India (525,645 tonnes), Ukraine (167,676 tonnes), Chile (152,030 tonnes) and South Africa (150,312 tonnes).
The agglomerated iron ore imports by Japan totaled 1.022 million tonnes, falling sharply by almost one-fifth when compared with the same month a year before. The agglomerated ore imports were valued at Yen 12.802 billion. The import value has increased sharply by nearly 20% when compared with the previous year. The average import price of agglomerated ore soared higher by nearly 50% over the previous year.
Brazil was the primary exporter of agglomerated iron ore to Japan. The imports from Brazil totaled 607,351 tonnes. The value of iron ore imports from Brazil totaled Yen 7.645 billion. The imports averaged at $112.88 per tonne. The other key exporters during the month were Canada (176,647 tonnes), Ukraine (130,562 tonnes) and the USA (87,527 tonnes).
The imports of non agglomerated iron ore totaled 9.716 million tonnes, accounting for bulk of the total iron ore imports by Japan during the month. The non-agglomerated iron ore imports registered 78% year-on-year jump in May ’17. The value of non-agglomerated iron ore imports has surged higher by almost 65% over the previous year.
The country imported non-agglomerated iron ore mainly from Australia. The imports from the country totaled 6.181 million tonnes at an average price of $76.89 per tonne. The value of iron ore imports from Australia totaled Yen 52.998 billion. The other primary exporters of non-agglomerated iron ore to Japan during May ’17 were Brazil (2.252 million tonnes), India (525,645 tonnes) and Canada (417,424 tonnes).
The cumulative iron ore imports by Japan during the initial five-month period of 2017 totaled 52.54 million tonnes. The imports during the period were down marginally by 0.8% when matched with the imports of 52.94 million tonnes during the corresponding five-month period in 2016. The agglomerated ore imports totaled 5.53 million tonnes, whereas the non-agglomerated imports totaled 47.00 million tonnes.
