【Ferro-alloys.com】India's imports of manganese ore stood at 5.92 million tonnes (mn t) in CY'21. Imports surged sharply by 62% year-on-year compared to 3.66 mn t in CY'20, as per customs data maintained with SteelMint.

Imports from South Africa up 58%: South Africa continued to remain the largest exporter of manganese ore to India at 3.16 mnt in CY'21. Imports from South Africa rose sharply by 58% y-o-y from 2 mn t in CY'20.

Imports from Gabon rise sharply by 116%: Gabonese manganese ore imports rose significantly by 116% y-o-y with 1.56 mn t of imports in CY'21.

Imports from Australia up 5%: India imported 0.71 mn t of manganese ore from Australia in CY'21- up 5% y-o-y compared to 0.67 mn t in CY'20.

Imports from Brazil climbed 319%: Imports of Brazilian manganese ore rose by a whopping 319% y-o-y to 0.32 mn t in CY'21 from 80,000 t in CY'20. This was the largest yearly import volume ever from Brazil.

Factors driving imports

Manganese alloys producers in India are operating at high capacity level due to higher orders received from the domestic and exports markets. What are the key reasons?

Chinese silico manganese demand has shifted primarily to the Indian market because of continuous production cuts in China's provinces resulting from the 'Dual Control' policy. Power rationing in China has had a strong impact on ferro alloys production. As a result, India has increased production of silico manganese used in steel, which has further increased the demand for manganese ore.

Imports of high-grade manganese ore have been relatively higher in CY'21 as Indian silico manganese producers received a flurry of export orders of high-grade silico manganese. Thus the requirement of semi-carbonate ore and high-grade ore increased.

Domestic manganese alloys producers have been focusing more on importing manganese ore due to insufficient domestic production. As per SteelMint data, India's manganese ore production fell to around 1.96 mn t in CY'21 compared to 2.12 mn t in CY'20. In fact, production in 2020 was also down by around 26% from 2.86 mn t in CY'19.

The surge in prices of manganese alloys during CY'21 was astounding. Silico manganese (65-16) prices touched historic high levels of around $1,800/t FOB India in Sept-Nov, which led many producers to significantly increase production of manganese-based alloys. This also contributed to boosting imports of manganese ore by Indian smelters.

• [Editor:zhaozihao]