Chinese Iron Ore Imports from Brazil Fall

Iron Ore

Total Chinese iron ore imports slipped to 85.9 Mt in March (-0.5 Mt year-on-year), according to customs data. A 4.3 Mt annual fall in receipts from Brazil (to 14.6 Mt) was partially offset by increases from most other major suppliers, with product from Australia rising by 0.8 Mt to 54.4 Mt.

Meanwhile, imports of South African iron ore gained by 1.1 Mt on the year to just under 5.0 Mt last month, while receipts from India grew to 2.5 Mt (+1.3 Mt). However, subsequent shipments are likely to have faced disruption due to lockdown measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Total 1q20 iron ore imports rose by nearly 2.0 Mt year-on-year to 262.8 Mt, of which supplies from Australia and Brazil made up 161.3 Mt (+1.7 Mt) and 50.7 Mt (-9.9 Mt), respectively.