India: Chrome ore dispatches fall by 28% m-o-m in Jul'24

Indian chrome ore dispatches dropped by 28% m-o-m to 275,063 tonnes (t) in July, down from 383,430 t in June. This decline was driven by several factors, including lower auction bid prices of Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Vedanta-Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) for July, as well as reduced tender prices in China along with weakened demand in the stainless steel sector.

All major miners reported a decline in dispatches. Tata Steel, FACOR, and Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA) saw reductions of 59%, 32%, and 21%, respectively.

OMC also reported an 8% decrease in its dispatches.

Procurement trend

Jindal Stainless led procurement in July, obtaining 78% (51,972 t) of its chrome ore from OMC, 15% (10,128 t) from Tata Steel, and the remaining 7% (4,404 t) from its own mines. IMFA sourced its entire requirement of 45,860 t from its captive mines. FACOR ranked as the third-largest buyer, acquiring 55% (12,524 t) of its chrome ore from its own mines and 45% (10,453 t) from OMC.