BEIJING: China’s iron ore imports from Australia rose 31.6 percent to 548.4 million tonnes last year, customs data showed on Friday, as a soaring production by big miners drove down prices and eliminated some smaller suppliers.
Shipment from Australia accounted for 58.8 percent of the total imports, compared with 50.9 percent in 2013, according to Reuters calculation based on data from the General Administration of Customs.
China imported a record of 932.5 million tonnes, up 13.8 percent on the year, as lower-cost shipments from global miners flooded the world’s top consumer and grabbed greater market share by forcing some higher-cost mines to shut down.
The price of benchmark 62 percent grade iron ore for immediate delivery to China’s Tianjin port fell 47 percent last year to below $70 a tonne, the lowest level since June, 2009, according to The Steel Index.
