India and South Africa could soon decide to ban chrome ore exports to China.

According to Albanian Minerals president and CEO Mr Sahit Muja, China has been importing raw chromite ore from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Albania and India at very low prices and using it to produce ferrochrome.

Mr Muja said that "The governments in South Africa, India and Zimbabwe had been petitioned by local ferrochrome producers to halt the export of raw chrome ore to China."

Mr Muja noted that Zimbabwe had banned the export of chrome ore, while India was considering a ban given the huge domestic demand for chrome ore. With regards to South Africa, Muja noted that the country may impose export duties and other controls to stop a surge in chrome ore sales to China so as to enable local ferrochrome makers to stay competitive.

Speaking about China's trade, he said trade surplus rose to its highest level in more than two years. Customs data showed that while export growth rose 20.4% from June's 17.9%, imports rose 22.9%, up from June's 19.3%.

Mr Muja added that Brazil, India, Canada, Australia, Russia, African countries and Middle East are dependant on China to drive demand for oil, natural gas, metals, iron ore and other imports. Exports rose to a new monthly high of USD 175.1 billion while imports grew to USD 143.6 billion.

However, with demand rising in India, POSCO has decided to jointly produce ferrochrome in India with Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys as it seeks to secure stable supplies of the raw material. While Posco will own 24% and Indian Metals & Ferro 76% of the entity, the firm will produce 35,000 tonnes of the ferroalloy annually.

At the start of 2011, an official from Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys said India's ferrochrome exports to countries including China could drop by a third in the next four years as domestic consumption gained. The official said exports could decline to 300,000 metric tonnes by 2015 from 450,000 tonnes expected this fiscal year.

Stainless steel consumption in India is being driven by increased usage in airports, railway coaches and automobiles. Officials said the growth in stainless steel consumption would be way sharper than that of China and that higher demand locally would mean exports would definitely fall.

Total domestic consumption may reach 1 million tonnes by 2015, from about 450,000 tonnes, while output may rise at a slower pace of 44% to 1.3 million tonnes, leaving less ferrochrome for exports. Indian Metals, which owns a chrome ore mine in the eastern state of Orissa, expects to produce 200,000 tonnes of ferrochrome this year.