Iron Ore Imports by France Nosedived 17% in August

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by Eurostat suggests considerable decline in iron ore imports by France during the month of August this year. However, cumulative imports during the initial eight months of 2017 exceeded the imports during the corresponding period last year.

France’s iron ore imports during August this year totaled 1.314 million tonnes, down significantly by 16.4% when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The exports had totaled 1.571 million tonnes during August 2016. The average import price surged higher from $61.3 per tonne to $76.3 per tonne. Also, the imports were valued at $100.2 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during the month was Canada. The imports of Canadian iron ore by the country totaled 512,640 tonnes, accounting for nearly 39% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Brazil averaged at $760.2 per tonne. The other key sources of import were Brazil (512,640 tonnes), Mauritania (75,010 tonnes), Mexico (56,616 tonnes) and Liberia (51,607 tonnes).

The agglomerated iron ore imports by the country totaled 339,388 tonnes, significantly down by 14% when matched with the imports of 394,419 tonnes in August 2016. The key suppliers of agglomerated ore were Canada (197,000 tonnes), Mauritania (75,010 tonnes) and Brazil (67,377 tonnes). Meantime, France imported 974,585 tonnes of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The imports declined by over 17% year-on-year. The primary exporters during the month were Brazil (445,263 tonnes), Canada (418,882 tonnes) and Mexico (56,616 tonnes).

The combined imports during the initial eight-month period of 2017 have surged higher by 21% to total 11.353 million tonnes. The key iron ore exporters to France during this period were Brazil (5.276 million tonnes) and Canada (4.832 million tonnes).

Out of this, agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 2.584 million tonnes, surging higher by nearly one-third from the imports of 1.954 million tonnes during the first eight-month period in 2016. Canada was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to France during this period. The imports from Canada totaled 1.455 million tonnes, followed by Brazil with 461,532 tonnes.

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by France reported 18% year-on-year jump to total 8.770 million tonnes during this period. Brazil was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during this period. The imports from the country totaled 4.814 million tonnes. Canada was the other major exporter with 3.377 million tonnes. The non-agglomerated iron ore imports were valued at $619.2 million. The imports were averaged at $70.6 per tonne.