Curtail iron ore export to meet steel demand, says report

With iron ore exports touching nearly 900 million tonnes — equivalent to 562 million tonnes of steel production — from 2002 up to 2012 fiscal, there is a growing need to curtail it given that the exports could have met seven years’ domestic steel demand, according to a research report.

With further increases in steel making capacity, the demand supply gap for iron ore is likely to widen, which additionally supports the argument to curtail iron ore exports, according to a report by Care Research.

Iron ore mines on an average generate only 35 per cent of their overall production in the form of lumps (high grade ore), while the rest is by way of fines (low grade ore), which have relatively less buyers in the domestic market. However, blessed with significant reserves, India has emphasised only on processing the lumps, while there have not been adequate initiatives to process the more inferior grade fines which are exported, the report adds.

Karnataka and Goa, account for more than 35 per cent share of domestic production, but curbs on illegal mining in these States have meant iron ore production has fallen from a peak of about 218 million tonnes a year in fiscal 2010 to about 135 mt in fiscal 2013, it said.

In line with the fall in iron ore production and with no new development of mines, availability of lumps in the domestic market has also declined. Exports have also plummeted to a decadal low of about 18 million tonnes in fiscal 2013 compared with the peak of about 117 million tonnes achieved in fiscal 2010, adds the report.

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