According to data released by worldsteel for the full year of 2025, global iron ore imports totaled 1.77 billion mt, of which 1.63 billion mt were extra-regional imports, while global scrap imports amounted to 95.3 million mt, including 55.8 million mt of extra-regional trade.
In iron ore trade, China remained the dominant importing region, with total imports of 1.31 billion mt, including 1.25 billion mt from outside the region. Its main suppliers were Oceania with 794.4 million mt, Africa and the Middle East with 89.9 million mt, and Asia with 60.2 million mt. On the export side, Oceania led iron ore shipments with 928.6 million mt, followed by South America with 458.3 million mt and Africa and the Middle East with 139.2 million mt.
In scrap trade, the European Union was the largest exporting region, with total exports of 42.4 million mt, while Asia except for China was the largest importing region, with imports of 30.3 million mt, including 26.1 million mt of extra-regional imports. Other Europe followed with 20.1 million mt of scrap imports.
The worldsteel data also show that Asia posted the largest iron ore trade deficit in the given year, with net imports of 1.49 billion mt, while Oceania recorded net iron ore exports of 927.2 million mt. In scrap, Asia except for China was the largest net importer with 25.8 million mt, while the EU and North America posted net exports of 11.8 million mt and 12.3 million mt, respectively.
