France's Iron Ore imports declined 18% on steel production cutbacks

PARIS (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by Eurostat indicate that iron ore imports by France declined significantly during the month of May this year. The imports during the five-month period from January to May this year too were down sharply when matched with the previous year.

France’s iron ore imports during May this year totaled 927,216 tonnes, dropping significantly by 18.1% when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The exports had totaled 1.133 million tonnes during May 2015. The average price of export dropped marginally by 1.8% to $52.0 per tonne when matched with the average export price of $52.9 per tonne during May last year. Also, the total value of exports dropped sharply by nearly 20% from $59.972 million to $48.182 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during the month was Brazil. The imports of Brazilian iron ore by the country totaled 445,965 tonnes, accounting for more than 48% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $49.5 per tonne. The value of imports totaled $22.076 million. The other key exporters of iron ore to France during the month were Canada (272,549 tonnes), Mauritania (73,294 tonnes), Russia (73,294 tonnes) and Liberia (55,375 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during May ’16 totaled 302,308 tonnes, increasing considerably by 39.3% over the previous year. Canada was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to France during the month with 77,199 tonnes. The other main sources of import of agglomerated iron ore by France were Russia (74,720 tonnes), Mauritania (73,294 tonnes) and Brazil (72,710 tonnes).

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by France totaled 624,908 tonnes, dropping sharply by 31.8% from 915,855 tonnes in May 2015. Brazil was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports of Brazilian agglomerated iron ore by France totaled 373,255 tonnes. The other key exporting countries were Canada (195,350 tonnes), Liberia (55,375 tonnes) and the Netherlands (873 tonnes). The average price of monthly exports was down considerably by 5.2% during the month to $43.6 per tonne. The non-agglomerated exports were valued at $27.273 million.

The iron ore imports by France during January to May this year totaled 5.286 million tonnes, declining considerably by nearly 16.5% when compared with the imports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 6.334 million tonnes during Jan-May 2015. The average price of imports dropped significantly by over 16% to $48.1 per tonne when matched with the average import price of $57.3 per tonne during the initial five-month period last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 30% year-on-year from $362.9 million to $254.1 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during the five-month period was Brazil. The imports of Brazilian iron ore by France totaled 2.376 million tonnes, accounting for nearly 45% of the total imports by France. The imports from Brazil averaged at $44.4 per tonne. The value of Brazilian iron ore imports totaled $105.516 million. The other key exporters to France during Jan-May ’16 were Canada (1.899 million tonnes), Liberia (441,626 tonnes) and Mauritania (241,567 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-May ’16 totaled 1.154 million tons, dropping by nearly 7.5% over the previous year. Canada was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to France during this period. The imports from Canada totaled 597,461 tonnes, followed by Brazil with 234,136 tonnes.

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by France totaled 4.133 million tonnes during the five-month period from January to May this year, dropping sharply by 18.8% from 5.087 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 2.142 million tonnes. The other key exporters were Canada (1.301 million tonnes), Liberia (441,626 tonnes) and Sweden (88,004 tonnes). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 19% to $42.3 per tonne. The non-agglomerated exports were valued at $174.786 million.