South Korea's iron ore imports declined 5% during H1 2016, says Customs data

SEOUL (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the Korea Customs Service indicate that iron ore imports by the country declined significantly during the month of June this year. The exports during the initial six-month period from January to June this year too were down sharply when matched with the previous year.

The South Korean iron ore imports during June this year totaled 5.071 million tonnes, dropping significantly by 7.8% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The imports had totaled 5.499 million tonnes during June 2015. The average price of import dropped by 18.2% to $52.9 per tonne when matched with the average import price of $64.6 per tonne during June last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 24.6% from $355.480 million to $268.087 million.

The largest exporter of iron ore to South Korea during the month was Australia. The imports of Australian iron ore by the country totaled 4.002 million tons, accounting for nearly 79% of the total monthly imports. The imports from Australia to the country averaged at $51.20 per tonne. The value of imports totaled $204.719 million. The other key exporters of iron ore to South Korea during the month were Brazil (613,422 tons), South Africa (169,828 tons) and Canada (138,284 tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during June ’16 totaled 230,422 tonnes, rising sharply by 161.8% over the previous year. Brazil was the key exporter of agglomerated iron to South Korea during the month with 156,319 tonnes. The other main exporter of agglomerated iron ore to the country was Russia (74,103 tonnes).

The non-agglomerated iron ore imports by South Korea totaled 4.840 million tonnes, dropping sharply by 10.5% from 5.411 million tonnes in June 2015. Australia was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during the month. The South Korean imports of agglomerated iron ore from Australia totaled 4.002 million tons. The other key exporters were Brazil (457,103 tons), South Africa (169,828 tons) and Canada (138,284 tonnes). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 19.6% during the month to $51.60 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $249.863 million.

The South Korean iron ore imports during January to June this year totaled 34.372 million tons, declining by 4.6% when compared with the imports during the corresponding period a year before. The imports had totaled 36.044 million tons during Jan-June 2015. The average price of imports dropped significantly by nearly 30% to $51.70 per ton when matched with the average import price of $73.60 per ton during the initial six-month period last year. Also, the total value of imports dropped sharply by 33% year-on-year from $2.653 billion to $1.778 billion.

The largest exporter of iron ore to South Korea during the six-month period was Australia. The South Korean imports from the country totaled 25 million tons, accounting for nearly 73% of the total South Korean imports. The imports from Australia averaged at $49.60 per ton. The value of Australian imports totaled $1.241 billion. The other key exporters of iron ore to South Korea during Jan-June ’16 were Brazil (5.262 million tons), South Africa (1.419 million tons) and Canada (1.224 million tons).

The agglomerated iron ore imports during Jan-June ’16 totaled 1.651 million tons, dropping marginally by 0.6% over the previous year. Brazil was the key exporter of agglomerated iron ore to South Korea during this period. The imports from Brazil totaled 997,589 tons, followed by Ukraine with 257,897 tonnes.

The South Korean non-agglomerated iron ore imports totaled 32.721 million tonnes during the six-month period from January to June this year, dropping sharply by 4.8% from 34.384 million tons during the same period a year before. Australia was the primary exporter of non-agglomerated iron ore during this period. The South Korean imports of Australian agglomerated iron ore totaled 24.927 million tonnes. The other key exporters were Brazil (4.264 million tons), South Africa (1.419 million tons) and Canada (1.224 million tons). The average price of monthly imports was down considerably by 30% to $50.30 per ton. The non-agglomerated imports were valued at $1.645 billion.