BERLIN: According to the latest import statistics published by the European Steel Association (EUROFER), the iron ore imports by Germany surged higher by 18% during the month. This is in comparison with the imports during same month the previous year.
The iron ore imports by the country during Apr ’15 totaled 3.899 million tonnes, 17.8% higher when compared with the imports during same month a year before. The iron ore imports had totaled 3.310 million tonnes during Apr ‘14. Meantime, the average import prices dropped sharply from $124.0 per tonne in Apr ’14 to $65.2 per tonne in April this year. The total value of imports amounted to $254.224 million during April this year, significantly lower when compared with the import value of $410.414 million during the previous year.
The largest iron ore exporter to Germany during April this year was the Netherlands. Germany’s iron ore imports from the country totaled 1.849 million tonnes, accounting for more than 47% of the total imports by Germany during the period. The iron ore imports from Netherlands averaged at $62.10 per tonne during the month.
The second largest exporter to Germany during Apr ‘15 was Brazil with 1.008 million tonnes. In third place was Sweden with exports to Germany totaling 598,646 tonnes during the month. The other key exporters of iron ore to Germany were South Africa (143,152 tonnes), Ukraine (103,663 tonnes) and Canada (97,749 tonnes).
The cumulative iron ore imports by Germany during Jan-Apr ’15 dropped 4.8% to total 13.877 million tonnes. The average import price has dropped by 46.60% during this period to $70.9 per tonne from $132.80 per tonne during Jan-Apr ’14. The largest exporter of iron ore to Germany during the initial four month period of the year was the Netherlands with 7.649 million tonnes, followed by Brazil (2.731 million tonnes) and Sweden (1.641 million tonnes).
