According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), in the first two months of the current year Chinese domestic iron ore output totaled 124.342 million mt, up 17.8 percent year on year, while in 2009 total domestic iron ore output had reached 880 million mt, with a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent. On March 19, China's total iron ore inventory at its ports amounted to over 71 million mt. According to MIIT, the total iron ore inventories held at the ports and by producers are sufficient to meet the requirements of domestic steelmakers over a two-month period.
Meanwhile, Jia Yinsong, an official at the MIIT raw materials department, has stated that, while the strong increase in domestic iron ore output in January and February may be linked to the comparatively low base volume in the same period of the previous year, the principal factor behind the increased output has been the rising price of iron ore. Mr. Jia also considered the higher output in January and February to be an indication of China's potential to step up its iron ore production.