Mmtc Bags Rs 650cr Iron Ore Export Order To Japan

MMTC Ltd has secured an order to export 7.2 million tonnes of iron ore to Japan. The order will fetch foreign exchange worth Rs 650 crore in fiscal 1998-99.

The order envisages a price increase of 2.94 per cent for lumps and 2.82 per cent on iron ore fines over the levels of the current fiscal. Other exporters to Japan like Australia and Brazil have obtained similar price hikes. MMTCs exports to Japan were worth Rs 600 crore last year, while in 1996-97 exports were at around Rs 500 crore.

The order includes 2.4 million tonnes of Bailadila lumps, one million tonne of Bailadila fines, 2-2.3 million tonnes of ore from the Bellary-Hospet sector and 3-5 lakh tonnes of ore from the Bihar-Orissa sector. The Kudremukh Iron Ore company will supply one million tonne of iron ore concentrate, inclusive of up to 250,000 tonnes of high siliceous concentrate during 1998-99.

 

MMTC is also working on securing an export order to South Korea. South Korea lifts about 2.3 million tonnes of iron ore and 100,000 tonnes of manganese ore annually. At current prices, MMTCs export of bulk minerals to South Korea would fetch around Rs 200 crore annually in foreign exchange. An MMTC delegation is currently in SKorea to finalise the terms and conditions for supply of iron ore and manganese during 1998-99.

The Japanese Steel Mills agreed to lift the iron ore from India despite a reduction of 97 million tonnes in steel production projected for 1998-99, against 103 tonnes projected for the current year. The steel scenario in the short term, as projected by the Japanese mills, continues to be sluggish due to a devaluation of the currency of some of the major steel importing countries in South-East Asia and the bearish outlook for steel exports.

Fiscal 1998-99 is the third year of the present 5-year agreement signed between MMTC and the Japanese mills. A 5-year agreement has also been signed with South Korea and Pakistan. The agreement with Pakistan commenced from October 1, 1997.