Posted on 07 Dec 2015
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp , Japan’s biggest steelmaker, said it had renewed a contract to buy 1.8-2.6 million tonnes of iron ore annually from India’s state-owned Metals & Minerals Trading Corp (MMTC) over three years.
The deal follows the approval by India’s cabinet in June to renew a long-term contract between MMTC and Japanese steelmakers for the supply of high-grade iron ore, despite growing pressure in India to use its natural resources to meet domestic needs.
Under the contract, India will supply 3.0-4.3 million tonnes of the steel-making material a year to Japanese steelmakers.
JFE Steel, a unit of JFE Holdings Inc, and Nisshin Steel Co Ltd said they had also renewed their contracts with MMTC, but declined to disclose their purchase volumes.
A Kobe Steel Ltd spokesman said it could not immediately confirm whether or not the firm had signed a deal.
Despite the plunging price of iron ore in an oversupplied global market, Japan’s steelmakers want to diversify procurement sources to ensure a long-term supply of the raw material, as Japan depends on Australia and Brazil for its imports.
