Xu Lejiang, chairman of Chinese steel giant Baoshan Iron and Steel Corporation Ltd. (Baosteel Group), has stated that in 2010, the country's aggregate import volume of iron ore is expected to be at the levels of 2009, or up one percent at most. The supply and demand of global iron ore will also not show significant changes in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the new seasonal pricing mechanism of iron ore is considered by Xu Lejiang to be acceptable.
"The crude steel output of China is expected to total 620 million mt in the full year of 2010," added Xu Lejiang.
According to the data issued by the Customs of China, in the first ten months this year, the import volume of iron ore totaled 503.3 million mt - down 2.2 percent as compared to the corresponding period of 2009.