KYIV. Jan 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian mining enterprises in 2016 significantly increased shipments of iron ore to Japan, Serbia, South Korea and Slovakia, while reducing shipments to China, Poland and Turkey, according to a press release from state enterprise Ukrpromzovnishekspertyza, with reference to analyst Dmytro Zheltiakov.
“Exports of Ukrainian iron ore in December 2016 fell by 22,000 tonnes, thus reaching 3.223 million tonnes. Since the beginning of 2016 a total of 39.2 million tonnes have been exported, which is 6.5 million tonnes less than in 2015,” the company press service said.
Zheltiakov said over the past year shipments to Japan (by 535,000 tonnes), Serbia (by 567,000 tonnes), South Korea (431,000 tonnes) and Slovakia (409,000 tonnes) rose most of all. The largest fall was recorded in exports to China (by 7.695 million tonnes), Poland (600,000 tonnes) and Turkey (633,000 tonnes).
As for the cost variables, in December prices of Ukrainian suppliers in foreign markets increased by 15-20%. According to the company experts, in January 2017 minor price fluctuations are likely to occur, following the stabilization of price indices in China. Prices in the domestic market of Ukraine, following the worldwide growing trend, should also show growth.
