By David Stanway and Lucy Hornby
BEIJING Jan 21 (Reuters) – China diversified its spot
iron ore buying away from India in 2011, largely in favour of
South Africa, but failed to reduce its dependence on term
purchases from top suppliers Australia and Brazil, customs data
showed on Saturday.
Chinese planners have said for several years that iron ore
supplies from India and elsewhere could help break the dominance
of the world’s top three iron ore miners, BHP Billiton
and Rio Tinto of Australia and
Brazil’s Vale.
But in 2011, China imported 64 percent of its iron ore from
those two countries, unchanged from the year before. Meanwhile,
iron ore purchases from India dropped by 24 percent, amid
complaints about declining quality.
Purchases from South Africa rose 22 percent, helping to
offset some of the missing Indian tonnage. India still remains
No. 3, supplying twice what China gets from South Africa.
Overall iron ore purchases rose by 10.94 percent, as the
Chinese steel industry continued to expand output in the face of
slowing domestic economic growth.
Continued…
