BEIJING: Chinese imports of iron ore from Brazil, the second largest supplier to the country, increased 10.3 percent in 2014 to 170.96 million tons, according to figures from China’s customs services.
From Australia, its main supplier, China imported 548.4 million tons of iron ore, an annual increase of 31.6 percent.
Overall, China imported 932 million tons of iron ore, an annual increase of 13.8 percent, and Australian mining companies increased their share of the market from 50.9 percent market share in 2013 to 58.8 percent in 2014.
Chinese imports from Indonesia and the Philippines fell by over 70 percent year on year in 2014, while imports from Russia and Venezuela fell, in both cases, by over 40 percent.
Iron or imports from Canada fell 23 percent, while those from Malaysia fell 18 percent, according to official figures issued in Beijing.