Chinese imports of iron ore decreased in the 1st half of 2015

According to the latest statistics released by the Chinese customs, imports of iron ore into the country declined slightly during the first six months of this year. Imports during this period fell by almost 1 percent when compared with imports in the corresponding six months of 2014.

China's imports of iron ore totaled 452.939 million tons between January and June this year, and during the same period last year, imports of iron ore were 457.373 million tons. Iron ore import prices averaged $ 63.80 per tonne during the reporting period, down significantly from $ 118.4 per tonne in 2014. The fall reached almost 46.1 percent.

Australia was the largest exporter of iron ore to China during January-June 2015. In the first half of the year, imports from Australia amounted to 291.174 million tons. The second largest exporter of iron ore to China was Brazil with supplies of 84.121 million tons. Other major sources of iron ore imports were: South Africa, which supplied 22.861 million tons; Ukraine, which exported 10.303 million tons; Iran with supplies of 6.566 million tons and Peru with 5.368 million tons.

Imports of unagglomerated iron ore to the country amounted to 440.921 million tons during January-June 2015, down 1.3 percent compared to imports of 446.883 million tons delivered between January and June 2014. On the other hand, imports of sintered iron ore for the first half of 2015 increased by 14.6 percent year on year from 10.490 million tons to 12.018 million tons.

Iron ore demand in China is falling, but its share of imports from the mining giants Australia and Brazil is growing, displacing small miners. In January-June, China increased its share of iron ore imports from Australia and Brazil to 83 percent, up from 74 percent in the first half of 2014, according to the customs administration. At the same time, the largest miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group, as well as the largest miner Vale, announced higher iron ore production in April-June 2015.