Global Times | 2012-9-11
By Yang Jingjie
The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) Monday rejected an Indian report that accused China of "gobbling up" India's iron ore reserves and demanded New Delhi ban exports of Indian ore to China.
Business insiders and analysts said the proposed ban of iron ore exports is unrealistic for India and would barely affect China's steel industry given the oversupply of iron ore in the global market.
A report by the Justice M.B. Shah Committee, which looked into illegal iron ore mining in India's resource-rich state of Goa, said, "China had strategically stopped short of tapping its deposits of 200 billion tons" and the central government should "consider banning exports of Indian ore," reported Indo-Asian News Service.
"Planning and conservation of iron ore for at least 50 years is required for Goa so that future generations may not be required to import steel from China…," the report said.
Qu Xiuli, a deputy secretary general of the CISA, told the Global Times that China's crude iron ore output has been rising by 20 percent annually.
"The CISA encourages exploitation of domestic mines, and aims to reduce imports to bring the price of iron ore under control," Qu said.
She also said that China's imports of iron ore from India have been declining.
According to LGMT Research, a market consulting firm for the steel industry, Indian iron ore took up around 11 percent of China's overall imports of iron ore in 2011, a decline from 15.6 percent in 2010.
Wang Guoqing, director of LGMT Research, told the Global Times that the decline was a result of hiked export duties imposed by India in recent years.
"It's not the right time for India to control its exports to China, because there is an oversupply of iron ore in the global market," said Wang. "Brazil's Vale, Australia's BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and FMG have all been expanding their production capacity."
The analyst also indicated that an export ban from India would barely hurt China's steel industry, as the country has made some progress in diversifying its iron ore sources by cooperating with ASEAN countries, Russia and Mongolia.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that the proposed export ban reflects the mentality of a small group of nationalists in India, who regarded it as "humiliating" that bulk commodities take up a large part of India's exports to China.
They should recognize that iron ore exports to China have helped the development of the local mining industry, job creation, and also narrowed the trade imbalance between the two sides, noted Fu.
China is India's largest source of imports. India's trade deficit with China jumped 42 percent to nearly $40 billion in the last fiscal year ending March 31, according to marketwatch.com.
By Yang Jingjie
The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) Monday rejected an Indian report that accused China of "gobbling up" India's iron ore reserves and demanded New Delhi ban exports of Indian ore to China.
Business insiders and analysts said the proposed ban of iron ore exports is unrealistic for India and would barely affect China's steel industry given the oversupply of iron ore in the global market.
A report by the Justice M.B. Shah Committee, which looked into illegal iron ore mining in India's resource-rich state of Goa, said, "China had strategically stopped short of tapping its deposits of 200 billion tons" and the central government should "consider banning exports of Indian ore," reported Indo-Asian News Service.
"Planning and conservation of iron ore for at least 50 years is required for Goa so that future generations may not be required to import steel from China…," the report said.
Qu Xiuli, a deputy secretary general of the CISA, told the Global Times that China's crude iron ore output has been rising by 20 percent annually.
"The CISA encourages exploitation of domestic mines, and aims to reduce imports to bring the price of iron ore under control," Qu said.
She also said that China's imports of iron ore from India have been declining.
According to LGMT Research, a market consulting firm for the steel industry, Indian iron ore took up around 11 percent of China's overall imports of iron ore in 2011, a decline from 15.6 percent in 2010.
Wang Guoqing, director of LGMT Research, told the Global Times that the decline was a result of hiked export duties imposed by India in recent years.
"It's not the right time for India to control its exports to China, because there is an oversupply of iron ore in the global market," said Wang. "Brazil's Vale, Australia's BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and FMG have all been expanding their production capacity."
The analyst also indicated that an export ban from India would barely hurt China's steel industry, as the country has made some progress in diversifying its iron ore sources by cooperating with ASEAN countries, Russia and Mongolia.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that the proposed export ban reflects the mentality of a small group of nationalists in India, who regarded it as "humiliating" that bulk commodities take up a large part of India's exports to China.
They should recognize that iron ore exports to China have helped the development of the local mining industry, job creation, and also narrowed the trade imbalance between the two sides, noted Fu.
China is India's largest source of imports. India's trade deficit with China jumped 42 percent to nearly $40 billion in the last fiscal year ending March 31, according to marketwatch.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment