China makes progress in regulating iron ore import

China makes progress in regulating iron ore import

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced today that China has been successful in regulating the country's iron ore imports through certain measures implemented earlier this year. As reported by SteelOrbis, China implemented an automatic import license system on March 1, 2005. Following the activation of the automatic monitoring system, Beijing also implemented certain qualification requirements for those wishing to import iron ore after May 1, 2005. In line with this latter measure, importers must meet at least 10 qualification requirements – such as production capacity, environmental standards and registered capital – before they would be allowed to import iron ore. The government took these measures to prevent blind imports, congestion at the ports and unhealthy competition in the country. The recent statement released by the Ministry of Commerce points out that the decline in iron ore prices and the significant reduction of congestion at the ports show that these measures have already proven successful. The Ministry predicts that the results of the macro-control policies on iron ore imports will be even more noticeable in the second half. Statistics indicate that China imported 208 million tons of iron ore in 2004, with 2005's figure expected to increase 15 percent to 240 million tons. Domestic iron ore production is expected to reach 370 million tons this year.