According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in January this year Turkey's chrome ore exports amounted to 209,938 metric tons, rising 13.5 percent compared to December last year and up 25.7 percent compared to the same month of 2012. Meanwhile, in January the revenue generated by Turkey's chrome ore exports totaled $42 million, increasing 17.55 percent month on month and up 29.2 percent on year-on-year basis.
Turkey's largest and almost only export destination for chrome ore in January this year was China, which received 99.2 percent of the country's total chrome ore exports, rising 21.5 percent over December 2012 and up 73.1 percent year on year. Belgium followed China in January, importing 1,318 mt of chrome ore from Turkey, decreasing 52.8 percent month on month and down 57 percent from January 2012.
In 2012, Turkey's chrome ore exports had decreased by 1.4 percent to 2.13 million metric tons, while the revenue for these exports had stood at $419 million, down by 10 percent, both compared to 2011.
On the other hand, Turkey's manganese ore exports in January this year totaled 20,639 mt, rising 19 percent, while the country's nickel ore exports fell 69.2 percent to 9,750 mt, both compared to the previous month.