1H Iron Ore Exports Up 8.2%.
18 July 2008
Iron ore dressing plants exported 9.8m mt of iron ore products in 1H06, up 8.2% yoy. Concentrate exports grew 50.3% yoy and made up 18.6% of the total (1.8m mt); sintering ore exports rose 11.7% yoy and accounted for 36.9% of the total (3.6m mt); and pellet exports decreased by 6.3% yoy and their share dropped to 44.5% (4.4m mt). Andriy Gostik: The increasing global demand for iron ore bodes well for Ukrainian exports. The drop in pellet export by Poltava GOK (PGOK: BUY) was due to technical reasons, in our view, as the cold winter interfered with pellet transportation via the Danube River. We expect pellet exports to approach 2005 levels by the end of the year.
