Iron ore exported by unclassified traders from Goa ports cannot be necessarily considered as

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"illegal", an industry body of the ore exporters said today.

Recently, media reports said that exports by unclassified iron ore traders were 'illegal' as there was no source of extraction mentioned about the consignments sent abroad.

Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA) said in a press note that those exporters who are not registered with the association were labelled as 'unclassified’ in the data compiled by the association.

"However, the assumption that unclassified is essentially illegal is misleading and misconstrued," the press note said.

GMOEA statistics show that 54 million metric tones of ore was exported from the state. Of that, 7 million metric tonnes was by unclassified traders who were not the part of the association.

"It is pertinent to note that the quantity listed under unclassified merely lists the amount which has been exported by parties who do not register with the association," the association said.

"Since the data listed under the unclassified header has been obtained from Mormugoa Port trust (MPT) and Panaji port and the association neither has the mandate nor the means to establish the source of the ore," it clarified.