China’s iron ore imports dropped 1pc, but ferrous scrap cargo into the country climbed nearly 31 times from January-July 2021 compared to the same year-ago period, according to Customs data.
The country’s import volumes for these commodities stood at 649.7mn mt and 420,820mt from 660mn mt and 13,142mt, respectively, during the same timeframe under review.
China’s shipments of iron ore this July were down 21pc at 88.5mn mt as against 112.6mn mt in the same month last year. Ferrous scrap imports, on the other hand, soared 34 times in July 2021 at 93,215mt from 2,660 during the same month in 2020.
Iron ore
Australia was the leading exporter of iron ore, although shipments declined 23pc in July to settle at 53.3mn mt from 70.6mn mt in the same prior-year month. Brazil followed in second place with 9pc less inbound cargo into China at 18.5mn mt from 20.4mn mt during the same period.
Ferrous scrap
Japan was the top exporter of the material, with 82 times more shipments in July this year at 70,443mt from 843mt during the same month in the previous year. South Korea’s exports grew 1466pc to 14,769mt from 943mt during the same timeframe.