Vizag port iron ore exports dip 11% on recession woes

Iron ore exports from the Visakhapatnam Port has dipped 11 per cent so far this year due to the continued recession in the global markets. Up to December 15, the port handled 11.23 million tonne of iron ore, as against about 12.63 million tonne during the same period last year, witnessing a decline of 1.4 million tonne.

For the whole of last financial year, the port handled 18.2 million tonne of iron ore, which accounted for about 28 per cent of the total cargo handled by it. This, however, may not cross the 15-million tonne mark this year.

“We used to handle about 1.6 million tonne of iron ore every month. In the last two months, we handled only 500,000 tonne. This was mainly due to the recession in the global markets,” KSD Dattu Raju, traffic manager at the Vizag port, told Business Standard.

Iron ore exports to China has come to a standstill in the last few months, while exports to Japan reduced by 45 per cent owing to the plummeting demand for steel. Essar Group’s hygrade pellets units at Visakhapatnam too had reduced production, resulting in a drastic fall in iron ore exports from the port, he added.

“However, with the withdrawal of export duty on iron ore by the central government, we expect quite a good number of iron ore vessels to anchor at the port during the next three months,” Raju said.