Iron ore export at Paradip rises three-fold

Coinciding with the weaker rupee regime, iron ore exports from Paradip port surged nearly three times to one million tonne (mt) during the first quarter of the current fiscal against the same period a year ago.

During the three-month period, 1.03 million tonnes of iron ore fines (powdery ore) of 62 grade were exported, compared with just 371,000 tonnes shipped in the previous comparable period.

Average global iron ore rates have slipped by more than 15 per cent between April and June to trade at $114 per tonne at Chinese ports. The Indian rupee, meanwhile, softened 9.5 per cent against the US dollar in the same period, providing a relief for the exporters to make some quick deals amid sluggish demand.

"There is no major rush of importers to book Indian iron ore. The rise in exports was just because of the weak rupee as exporters wanted to clear some stocks at ports," said R K Sharma, director general of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi).

After the mining ban in Karanataka and curb on exports in Goa, east Indian ports have assumed top positions in terms of iron ore exports. A major part of 18 million tonne annual exports is being shipped from east coast ports such as Paradip, Haldia and Vizag, with Odisha contributing about 4.5 million tonnes.

During April-June, imports of coking coal zoomed by 27 per cent to 1.5 milion tonne at Paradip, indicating rise in industrial activities despite a costlier dollar. The import of coking coal, a key fuel required to convert iron ore into hot metal, have been showing an upward trend since April, data from the port revealed.

In April, it was 499,461 tonnes, which went up to 511,764 tonnes in May and 554,138 tonnes in June. Even as coking coal rates have shed more than 5.7 per cent during the first quarter, a weaker rupee against the dollar neutralised the effect.

"We could not benefit from price fall in global coking coal rates as a costlier dollar penalised us. The rising imports were also part of previous long term contracts of some steel plants," said an official of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), which imports coking coal worth Rs 900 crore every year.