In line with the drop in international prices, China’s import bill for iron ore and concentrate fell dramatically by 40% to $53 billion during January-November 2015, compared to $87.9 billion reported for the same period previous year, according to customs data.
Import from Australia, the largest sourcing country, was down 35% to $33 billion during the first 11 months of 2015, against $50.8 billion recorded for the year-ago period, the data shows.
The largest percentage fall was witnessed in import from Canada, which dropped by 51% to $653 million till November 2015 versus $1.3 billion in the same period previous year.
Import bill for ore sourced from Brazil, South Africa and Ukraine – the other major sourcing countries – were also down by 31-38% on year-on-year basis.
According to reports, the volume of China’s import of iron ore has surged in recent months buoyed by the low prices. This in turn has resulted in a drop in domestic production last year.
China’s iron ore import bill ($ billion)
Country/Region |
Jan-Nov, 2015 |
Jan-Nov, 2014 |
% change |
Australia |
33.11 |
50.82 |
-35 |
Brazil |
10.94 |
16.89 |
-35 |
S. Africa |
2.84 |
4.59 |
-38 |
Ukraine |
1.45 |
2.09 |
-31 |
Canada |
0.65 |
1.34 |
-51 |
Total |
53.00 |
87.98 |
-40 |
Source: Customs data and ISMW