Iron Ore Imports by France Zoomed 48% in September

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade statistics published by Eurostat suggests significant jump in iron ore imports by France during the month of September this year. The combined imports during the first three quarters of the current year too stood higher in comparison with the previous year.

France imported 1.457 million tonnes of iron ore during September 2017. The imports surged higher by over 48% when matched with the imports during the same month a year before. France’s iron ore imports had totaled only 983,864 tonnes during September ’16. The import prices averaged at $92.4 per tonne, significantly higher from $60.7 per tonne a year before. The total value of imports ballooned by 125% $59.7 million to $134.7 million.

France’s primary sources of import for iron ore were Brazil and Canada. The imports from these countries accounted for more than 93% of the total monthly imports by the country. Out of this Brazil supplied 913,338 tonnes, whereas Canadian supplies totaled 446,444 tonnes during the month. The value of iron ore imports by Brazil and Canada totaled $75.1 million and $48.1 million respectively. Russia (73,985 tonnes) and Turkey (22,976 tonnes) were the other main iron ore suppliers.

The combined imports during the first three quarters of the year surged higher by 24% from 10.32 million tonnes in 2016 to 12.81 million tonnes in 2017. The average import prices were up by 53%. Also, the value of imports skyrocketed by nearly 90%.

The agglomerated iron ore imports by the country totaled 425,625 tonnes, higher by 12.3% when matched with the imports of 379,062 tonnes in September 2016. The key suppliers of agglomerated ore were Canada (239,513 tonnes), Brazil (89,151 tonnes) and Russia (73,985 tonnes). The agglomerated ore imports totaled 3.009 million tonnes in Jan-Sep ’17, considerably higher by 29% over the year. The primary suppliers during this period were Canada and Brazil. The imports during the period averaged at $106.9 per tonne. The value of agglomerated iron ore imports totaled $321.75 during the initial nine months of 2017.

France imported 1.031 million tonnes of non-agglomerated iron ore during September 2017. Brazil (824,187 tonnes) and Canada (206,931 tonnes) were the leading suppliers. The cumulative imports during Jan-Sep ’17 totaled 9.801 million tonnes, rising nearly 23% from 2016. The average import price was $73.0 per tonne, whereas the import value amounted to $715.041 million. The imports from Brazil totaled 5.638 million tonnes. Canada’s exports of non-agglomerated ore to France totaled 3.584 million tonnes.