India: Chrome ore dispatches fall 3% y-o-y in FY24, Tata Steel and FACOR report declines

Indian chrome ore dispatches decreased by 3% y-o-y to 3.45 mnt in FY24 from 3.57 mnt in FY23. Tata Steel's mining was stopped for few months, resulting in a drop in its dispatches. In FY24, its dispatches were 0.98 mnt, down from 1.61 mnt in FY23. Additionally, Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) reported a 20% y-o-y decline in dispatches, totaling 0.16 mnt in FY24.

Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) dispatches, however, showed a 37% y-o-y growth of 1.59 mnt in FY24. Furthermore, IMFA (Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited) reported a 9% y-o-y increase to 0.64 mnt in FY24 from 0.59 mnt in FY23. Balasore Alloys showed a remarkable 1142% y-o-y growth, although in FY24, its mining was operational only in February and March.

Procurement trend

IMFA continued to be the biggest purchaser in FY24, obtaining 0.65 mnt from its own captive mines and the remaining from OMC and Jindal Stainless. With 92% (0.46 mnt) purchased from OMC and the remaining portion coming from Tata Steel and its own mines, Jindal Stainless was the second-largest purchaser. Having obtained all 0.42 mnt from its own mines, Tata Steel ranked third.