India's iron ore exports dropped 17% in February, pellet exports vanish

The high duty structure has resulted in a huge drop in exports of iron ore and pellet exports from the country

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster):  The high duty structure has resulted in a huge drop in exports of iron ore and pellet exports from the country, showed the latest export data released by the Indian Trade and Commerce Ministry. The iron ore exports declined sharply by 16.5% over the previous year in February, whereas the pellet ore exports were completely absent during the month.

The country’s iron ore exports during February this year totaled 889,882 tonnes, 16.5% lower when compared with the exports during the same month, a year ago. The pellet exports from the country literally vanished during the month of February this year. The cargoes were left unsold, with no buyers.

During the initial ten-month period this fiscal, the country exported 14.01 million tonnes, as against 17.36 million tonnes exported during the corresponding ten-month period during previous fiscal.On year-on-year basis, the exports have dropped by 19.3%.India had exported 18.66 million tonnes during FY ’13, 61.74 million tonnes during FY ’12 and 97.66 million tonnes during FY ’11.

The month of February witnessed a considerable drop in buying interest from China.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been demanding for reduction of export duty on iron ore and pellets from the country. Currently, the duty on iron ore exports is 30%. Also, pellet exports from the country are levied 5% duty.

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