China Cuts Back on Indian Iron Ore

China seems to have reduced its iron ore imports from India over the last few months. The general trend has been emerging in the global markets but now facts have come to light with concrete data to support it.

In October 2010 the Indian export of iron ore to China has fallen by 6.4% this year. This was reflected in the customs data which showed that only 2.91 million tonnes of iron ore were exported to China in October. This is a drop of 44 % compared to the same time period last year.

In fact the exports were down by 39% when compared to the time frame of September this year. The Chinese buyers shifted to other markets when India was only able to meet 20% of its iron ore needs last year. This was in part influenced by the ban imposed by the state of Karnataka on exports due to its crack down on illegal mining activities.

China began importing iron ore from Brazil to meet the shortfall. Also the Chinese demand for iron ore has reduced as they have begun to slow down industrialization activities in general.