Li Xinchuang, secretary of the party committee of China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute (MPI) stated at the 10th China Steel Raw Material Market High-end Forum held by MPI that import iron ore prices fell below $100/mt not long ago amid the slackening demand. Mr. Li said China needs to continue developing domestic iron ore in order to take the initiative in pricing.
Compared to the highest level of $233/mt recorded in May this year, import iron ore prices fell to around $90/mt recently, dropping by more than 60 percent.
In the January-October period of the current year, the import iron ore volume declined by 4.2 percent year on year, while the import iron ore volume decreased by 14.2 percent in October alone.
“The dependence on import iron ore decreased to 75 percent during the January-September period this year, down from the previous 80 percent, signaling the dual control on capacity and output has taken effect, while the imports of iron ore mostly come from very few countries—including Australia and Brazil, leading to our passive role in pricing,” Mr. Li said.
The vice president of China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), Luo Tiejun said the pricing strategy in iron ore market has not changed, and the lack of iron ore resources guarantee will continue to affect the stable development of China’s steel industry for a long term.
When Xia Nong, the first-class inspector of industry department of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) visited Baosteel Resources Co., Ltd for investigation, he said that China will continue to increase the support for the development of domestic iron ore and study the establishment of departmental coordination mechanism, aiming to continuously improve China’s iron ore independency and safeguard the safety of steel industry chain and supply chain.