Peru’s copper ore exports dropped by 60pc in May from the same month last year, due to COVID-19 related shutdowns since mid-March.
Peru, the second largest producer of copper ore, exported 439,069mt of copper ore in May, compared with 721,332mt in the same month last year, according to Global Trade Tracker data. The pandemic caused shuttering of most mines for a 45-day period, which would explain the gradual resume of mining activity.
In the first five months of the year, Peru exported 2.62mn mt of the red metal, down 33pc from 3.39mn mt In January-May 2019. However, production levels are expected to rise after the Peruvian government green-flagged mining activity on May 2.
China is the largest importer of Peruvian copper ore. It imported 210,776mt, down 40pc from May 2019 as the country faced a second wave of COVID-19 infections. India, which imports around 5pc of total copper ore shipments from Peru did not import any volume owing to one of the tightest COVID-19 related shutdowns. However, Korean import of the copper rose by 54pc to 63,181mt during the month.
Supply of copper ore from Peruvian mines in May was low, thus export volume was reduced to most countries.