China the largest iron ore importer of the world has imported 1.06 MnT pellets in Jul’17 according to the trade data released by Chinese Customs. China pellet imports were up by 81% M-o-M against the quantity of 0.59 MnT in Jun’17.
The pellet imports by China however were down by 15% Y-o-Y for the month of July which were 1.25 MnT in Jul’16.
For the first seven months of 2017, China pellet imports were at 9.97 MnT 16% up Y-o-Y compared to the quantity of 8.91 MnT for the corresponding period in 2016.
Country-wise China Pellets Import in Jul’17
China mainly imports high-grade pellets from India, Australia, Ukraine and Brazil etc. In Jul’17, India exported 0.32 MnT pellets to China and was the second largest exporter of pellets to China. India is actively exporting high-grade pellets to China in order to fulfill its pellet appetite. Ukraine was the largest pellet exporter with 0.35 MnT pellets to China in Jul’17.
Increased Pellets Export in Coming Months from India
Pellet exports prices from India have climbed to almost 38 months high in the recent tender conducted by the manufacture.
As reported earlier Indian pellets have received record bids in previous week and current trend suggest it will continue to remain the same.
The increased demand from China for high grade material has pushed the pellet prices up recently in India. The Chinese manufactures are using high grade material to mitigate the increased coking coal prices resulting in favor of Indian pellet exporters.
The reduced use of sinter and environmental control policies in China have forced the industry buying turn to the better quality feeders to curb the hazardous levels of pollution. Moreover according to reports Beijing in its efforts to look green before “The National People’s Congress” in Oct’18 is believed to have ordered the mills to cut down on their sintering units nearby the capital, which has forced them to evaluate the other options like lump or pellet as feeders.
Source Steel Mint powered by Keyvan Jafari Tehrani (JTC)