Iran Iron Ore Exports Down 33% in April
EghtesadOnline: Iranian miners exported a total of 964,200 tons of iron ore in April, recording a 33% drop compared with last year’s similar period, according to provisional data published by market analyst Keyvan Jafari Tehrani.
Shipments are expected to reach 1.14 million tons by the end of May.
China was the main destination, as the country accounted for 912,250 tons of total export volume. The industrial giant has consistently retained the top spot among Iran’s ore trading partners.
April shipments are in fact miners’ lowest monthly performance in the past 12 months. The forecast for May, too, is lower than even the 1.16-million-ton shipments in August 2017—the industry’s lowest for the period, Financial Tribune reported.
Iran shipped a total of 6.61 million tons of iron ore in the first four months of 2018 to a host of countries, including Malaysia, Russia, the UAE, Pakistan and China.
Major Iranian miners produced 38.84 million tons of iron ore concentrate during the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2018), as well as 6.61 million tons of granulated iron ore, 31.35 million tons of pellets and 18.96 million tons of direct-reduced iron, according to statistics released by Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization.