Indian iron ore exports have surged this year as steel mills, mainly in the biggest buyer China, switched to lower-grade, cheaper feed in the face of dwindling profits.
Combined outbound shipments of iron ore and pellets from the South Asian nation more than doubled in the first eight months of 2023 to almost 28 million tons from a year earlier, according to researcher and rating agency ICRA Ltd., far surpassing the total exports of 2021 and 2022. India will continue to sell about 3 million tons a month to global markets for rest of the year, CRU Group said.
The steelmaking ingredient is currently trading near $115 a ton on the Singapore exchange, the global benchmark.
The increased inflows from India will help shave some costs for Chinese mills that are maintaining production despite the country’s economic slowdown. The steel industry has been hit hard, with profits at ferrous metals producers dropping 91% over the first seven months of the year. Iron ore prices have risen 20% in the past year.