Italian Iron Ore Imports Dropped Sharply in Q1 2017

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade statistics released by the Eurostat suggests sharp decline in iron ore imports by Italy during the initial three-month period of the year. Meantime, the monthly import volumes were up nearly 10% in March, upon comparison with same month the previous year.

The imports in March this year totaled 889,844 tonnes, higher by 10% when compared with the imports of 808,686 tonnes recorded during March last year. The largest exporter of iron ore to Italy was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 609,105 tonnes at an average price of $87.8 per tonne. The other key suppliers during the month were South Africa (167,920 tonnes) and Mauritania (112,645 tonnes).

The imports of agglomerated iron ore was significantly down by over 16% to 252,758 tonnes. This accounted for 28.4% share of total iron ore imports by Italy during the month. The only supplier of agglomerated iron ore was Brazil. The imports from Brazil were valued at USD 26.546 million at an average price of $105.0 per tonne.

Non-agglomerated ore imports by Italy totaled 637,086 tonnes, rising significantly by 25.5% over the year. Brazil continued to remain as the key supplier during the month. The imports from Brazil averaged at $75.6 per tonne, generating total value of $26.940 million. Italy’s imports from Brazil totaled 356,347 tonnes. The other key suppliers of non-agglomerated iron ore to the country were South Africa (167,920 tonnes) and Mauritania (112,645 tonnes).

According to Eurostat data, Italy’s combined iron ore imports during the first quarter of the current year totaled 1.867 million tonnes, considerably down by 10.8% when matched with the imports of 2.094 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding quarter last year. The cumulative imports from Brazil totaled 1.078 million tonnes, followed by South Africa (340,812 tonnes), Mauritania (315,435 tonnes) and India (101,000 tonnes).

The combined quarterly agglomerated ore imports totaled 514,896 tonnes. This is over 24% down when matched with the imports of 678,377 tonnes during Q1 ’16. Brazil accounted for bulk of the agglomerated iron ore imports by Italy during the three-month period. The supplies from Brazil totaled 382,491 tonnes. The other primary suppliers during the first quarter of this year were India (101,000 tonnes) and Ukraine (31,405 tonnes).

The non-agglomerated ore imports by Italy during Q1 ’17 totaled 1.352 million tonnes, marginally lower by 4.5% from 1.416 million tonnes last year. The value of imports amounted to $102.9 million at an average of USD 76.1 per tonne. The imports from Brazil totaled 695,443 tonnes, followed by South Africa (340,812 tonnes) and Mauritania (315,435 tonnes) in second and third places.