As the country feeds the expansion of its steel industry and resource nationalism becomes a big driver of policy

in the capital, it is being speculated that Indias iron ore exports could halve over the next five years. Prices can be helped to increase by lower shipments from India, which exports almost half the 200 million tonnes it produces. The prices have more than tripled in three years before massive Australian projects come on stream around 2014. Never before has the export of iron Ore and the prospects of it has generated so much furor in the international market and media. The Globe and Mail reports in a bid to curb overseas sales has stated Indias largest exporting company is Sesa Goa, a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources, which just over a week ago said it will buy 51% stake in an iron ore making firm in Liberia for $90 million which an estimated reserve of over 1.05 billion tonnes iron ore. The global trade in iron ore which not long ago featured antiquated annual contracts and secretive pricing has been transformed and Singapore has launched the first global iron ore futures contract. India has raised freight rates and quadrupled export taxes on iron ore fines. Singapores Mercantile Exchange will launch this week a futures contract available to global investors. Reuters reports India debuted the worlds first iron ore futures contract in January, but volumes have been muted as participation of foreign players is not allowed. Australia is the worlds number one iron ore exporter and MINING.com reported in July iron ore is far from being merely a relic of the industrial revolution and still plays a central role in the world economy and the commodities markets.