According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in May this year Turkey's chrome ore exports amounted to 290,844 metric tons, more than double compared to April and up 30.9 percent compared to the same month of 2012. Meanwhile, in May the revenue generated by Turkey's chrome ore exports totaled $57 million, increasing 25.2 percent on year-on-year basis.
On the other hand, in the first five months of 2013 Turkey's chrome ore exports increased by 3.5 percent to 861,806 metric tons, while the revenue for these exports amounted to $175.5 million, up 3.9 percent, both compared to the first five months of 2012.
Turkey's largest and almost only export destination for chrome ore in May this year was China, which received 89 percent of the country's total chrome ore exports, amounting to 259,422 mt, up 22.2 percent year on year. Sweden followed China in May, importing 15,216 mt of chrome ore from Turkey, while there is no record of Swedish chrome ore imports from Turkey in May 2012.
On the other hand, Turkey exported 12,967 mt of manganese ore in May, decreasing significantly compared to the 42,593 mt recorded in the previous month, and down 24.9 percent year on year.