'China's import of iron ore to remain stable at 600 million tonnes'

“China is expected to import 600 million tonnes of iron ore in the current year. This is almost the same amount it had imported last year,” Bright Ruby Resources Vice President (Resource Purchase Department) Victor Wang told reporters here.

As of now, China has around 90 million tonnes of iron ore stockpile, its highest ever, he said. China is the world's largest steel maker. Out of 127 million tonnes crude steel production in April this year, China's contribution was 59 million tonnes, up 7.1 per cent compared to April 2010. India had exported 87.3 million tonnes of iron ore last fiscal, down by 12.98 per cent over 2009-10, dented by a steep hike in exports duty and ban on exports of the raw material in a certain period 2010-11 in Karnataka, India's second largest iron ore exporting state.

India is unlikely to cash in on the Chinese demand due to the duty hike and countries like Brazil, Australia and the US are expected to bridge the gap.

China, Brazil, Australia, India and the US contribute around 70 per cent to the world's iron ore trade. India's contribution in the global trade is only seven per cent. Bright Ruby is likely to import 10-15 per cent more in the current year from India, Wang said.