Constantino Xavier <constantino.xav...@gmail.com> writes: Subsidising China's incursion
http://www.thegoan.net/View-From-Afar/Subsidising-China%E2%80%99s-incursion/Column-Post/00205.html " We know little about the Chinese military campsite, but it is probable that the steel poles and stakes that hold the PLA tents, as well as the officers? steel spikes were manufactured with Indian iron ore." It would be good to know to what extent Goan iron ore contributed to the Ladakh incursion. According to the Goan Mineral Ore Exporters' Association, Goan iron ore exports in 2011 amounted to 43.27 million tonnes. According to the Factbox on Reuters, China imported 642 million tonnes of iron ore in 2011 (#1 importer in the world) China also produced 1.2 billion tonnes or iron in that year (#1 producer in the world). It is quite possible that Goan iron ore, which amounted to about 7% of all Chinese imported iron ore in 2011, was used for all the "steel poles and stakes that hold the PLA tents,as well as the officers steel spikes.. " The irony of this present situation is that since the Indian iron ore exports have stopped for various well known reasons the market price of the iron ore has soared.(See the chart on Index Mundi).This has helped those still exporting in Australia and Brazil while hurting the importers in China and the European Union who have had to pay the higher prices. According to the Financial Times "The disappearance of Indian supply has seen world prices soar to $155 a tonne, an increase of more than three quarters since last September. The rise has swelled profits of Australian and Brazilian iron ore miners such as Vale, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue. “Today maybe it’s $40 higher than it would have been [with Indian supply]”, says Jim Lennon, chairman of commodities research at Macquarie in London, who thinks higher prices will continue this year. “It’s a significant impact, no doubt about it . . . while India loses $10bn plus earnings on its balance of trade by not exporting, other iron ore producers are receiving massive windfalls,” he says. On the other hand The Hindu-Business Line, reports that the President of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations states that India must target $100-billion per year exports to China by 2018 a target which requires a compounded increase of 30% year over year in order to address the widening gap between Chinese imports and exports to India. It is quite a complex situation, with no readily available easy solutions. Regards, E. Reference Links: http://gmoea.com/ http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/ironore-exporters-idINL3E8CK1WK20120127 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c25abe2c-7a94-11e2-9cc2-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2SNZA4OU7 http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=iron-ore&months=120 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/india-must-target-100b-exports-to-china-by-2018-fieo/article3999024.ece