India inks iron ore export deals with Japan and Korea

The Indian government signed deals with Japan and South Korea for iron ore exports to be supplied by the National Mineral Development Corporation for a five-year period. An official from the Ministry of Commerce said, “The new Long Term Agreements with Japan and Korea have been signed. Iron ore exports to these two countries during 2006-11 would be in the range of 2.70-6.78 million mts per annum.” The official also stated that the actual quantities to be supplied to these countries would be negotiated every year. Sources report that for iron ore exports to China, a separate agreement will be signed, the negotiations of which will be held next month in Beijing. The previous agreement regarding iron ore exports during 2001-06 covered exports in a range of 9.6-16.5 million mts per annum, including exports to China.