ANKARA: The latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) suggests that the country’s iron ore imports surged significantly higher during the month of November 2015.
The imports during the month totaled 768,625 tons, surging higher by nearly 28.2% when compared with the imports during the same month a year ago. The Turkish iron ore imports had totaled 599,770 tons during November 2014. The imports were down by over 21% when compared with the previous month. The Turkish iron ore imports during October last year had totaled 981,000 tons.
The import value generated by iron ores totaled $51.412 million during November last year, falling by over 20% from the year before. The imports had generated $64.512 during November 2014. The average import price has declined by almost 38% year-on-year from US$ 107.6 per ton to US$ 66.90 per ton.
The largest supplier of iron ore to Turkey during Nov ’15 was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 513,515 tons, accounting for nearly 67% of the total imports by the country during the month. In second place was Russia with 159,446 tons, accounting for nearly 21% share of monthly imports by Turkey. In third place was Ukraine with 95,663 tons.
The cumulative iron ore imports by Turkey during the initial eleven-month period in 2015 totaled 9.265 million tons, up by 24.7% when compared with the imports during the corresponding eleven-month period from January to September last year. The Turkish iron ore imports during January to November had totaled 7.429 million tons in 2014. The average import price plummeted 36.4% year-on-year to $80.90 per ton during Jan-Nov ’15.
The key suppliers of iron ore to turkey during the initial 11-month period in 2015 were: Brazil (4.528 million tons), Russia (1.384 million tons), Sweden (1.322 million tons) and Ukraine (1.284 million tons).