Posted on 14 Apr 2021
China imported a total of 283.4 million tonnes of iron ore over January-March, higher by 21 million tonnes or by 8% compared with the first quarter last year, according to the latest statistics released by the country's General Administration of Customs on April 13.
The on-year growth in imports during the first quarter was partly attributed to the relatively low base level in the same period of 2020 when Australia and Brazil, China’s two major iron ore suppliers, both witnessed disrupted iron ore shipments.
“The volume of iron ore dispatched from ports in Western Australia to China declined more significantly during last year’s first quarter amid frequent tropical cyclones there, while over the same period in Brazil, Vale was still only gradually resuming production in the aftermath of the tailings dam collapse at its Brucutu mine in January 2019,” according to a Shanghai-based analyst.
This year, the steady and strong demand for iron ore from domestic steel mills had also encouraged more iron ore imports in the first quarter, she added.
The blast furnace capacity utilization rate among the 247 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel’s survey averaged 90.5% during the January-March quarter, higher by 7.5 percentage points on year, indicating that most of the surveyed mills had been maintaining a high pace of production.
On the other hand, the rapid increase in prices of bulk commodities caused imports to climb as well, Mysteel Global notes.
For example, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines price had moved within the range of $149.55-177.9/dmt CFR Qingdao in the first quarter, much higher than the $79.9-96.3/dmt range during January-March last year.
In March alone, China’s iron ore imports reached a four-month high of 102 million tonnes, gaining 11.2 million tonnes or 12% from the average volume of 90.8 million tonnes brought into the country in February, the Customs’ data also showed.
Arrivals of ore carriers at China’s ports remained high in March and matched the trend in imports. As of March 26, the total volume of iron ore in carriers awaiting unloading at the 45 Chinese ports under Mysteel’s weekly survey reached 87.9 million tonnes, 3 million tonnes or 3% higher on month.
Source:Mysteel Global
