Country's iron ore exports stood at 10.75 lakh tonnes in the April-October period of this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.

As per provisional data, the country exported 10.75 lakh tonnes of iron ore in the first seven months of FY2015-16, Minister of State for Steel and Mines Vishnu Deo Sai said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The country had exported 74.90 lakh tonnes of iron ore in FY 2014-15, the minister said.

In order to ensure , he said, the government has decided

Deo further said that although conservation of iron ore resources is of paramount importance, but the long-term availability of the mineral for the domestic steel industry can not be achieved by banning or capping the export, and instead it can be done through appropriate fiscal measures.

"Presently, an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent is levied with effect from December 12, 2011 on export of all grades of iron ore except low grades which carry a duty of 10 per cent while iron ore pellets have an export duty of 5 per cent," the minister said.