India: Chrome ore dispatches decrease 19% m-o-m in Jul'21

Indian chrome ore dispatches decreased by 19% m-o-m to 271,621 tonnes (t) in Jul'21. Despite this, production of ferro chrome suffered significantly in the past two months, due to shutdowns and shifting by smelters to production of other ferro alloys.

In Jul'21, prices of chrome ore were around 18% higher as compared to the previous month in line with the higher prices of ferro chrome. Most of the production of ferro chrome is restricted to only a limited number of producers.

Major buyers: Jindal Stainless, Tata Steel, and FACOR were the three major receivers of chrome ore in Jul'21. Jindal Stainless procured around 96% of the total quantity from OMC, and the rest was taken by Tata Steel.

Tata Steel procured its full quantity through captive mines while FACOR procured 28% of the total volume from Tata Steel and the rest from captive sources.

Dispatches from Tata Steel for its captive consumption showed a negative trend, as dispatches for the major conversion units, Nava Bharat Ventures and Aarti Steel, increased. Meanwhile, dispatches to Rohit FerroTech increased significantly by 93%, as the company is owned by Tata Steel.