Chinese iron ore imports soared to their second highest mark ever in 2019 after the world’s top steel producer brought in 1.069 billion tonnes of the product, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday.
Thanks to an increased demand at steel mills and shipments from non-traditional suppliers, including South Africa, China’s iron ore imports rose by 0.47% in the past year, just below the record of 1.075 billion tonnes in 2017.
In the report, Wu Shiping, an analyst at securities company Tianfeng Futures, noted that purchases from smaller mines in countries like Australia, Brazil, India and South Africa had boosted shipments.
“Purchases from non-mainstream suppliers increased amid soaring iron ore prices,” said Wu.
In December alone, purchases of iron ore catapulted by 11.8% to 101.3 million tonnes, to reach the highest volume of monthly iron ore imports in 27 months.
