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China should have more say in global iron ore trade: official

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-13 12:32

As the world's largest iron ore buyer, China should have more say in the global iron ore trade, the Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Yizhong said Thursday.

"Spot prices of iron ore are increasing sharply on the global market and we hope to see an appropriate relationship between spot prices and long-term contract prices," Li said at a press conference.

He hoped the world's major iron ore suppliers would consider both their own long-term interests and their long-term cooperation with China's steel industry.

According to customs statistics, China imported 355.3 million tons of iron ore in the first seven months this year, an increase of 31.8 percent from a year earlier.

China's iron ore demand would not continue its rising trend as the government restructured the steel industry in an effort to solve the excess capacity problem, Li said.

Special Coverage: Iron Ore Price Talks Related readings:  China to back CISA in iron ore talks  CISA stance hurts small steel mills  CISA: Iron ore import pricing proposal still on  Crude, iron ore imports up in July

China had stockpiled more than 200 million tons of iron ore bought at record high prices of $140 to $160 per ton last year because of "disorderly" imports.

Domestic steel makers suffered tremendous losses when prices plunged to $30 per ton as the global economic downturn sapped demand, he said.

He said the government would support the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), which heads the 2009 iron ore price negotiations with major iron ore suppliers on behalf of domestic steel makers, and urged an end to in-fighting, which pushed up prices.

Iron ore price negotiations with Rio Tinto, the world's second largest iron ore supplier, have hit a stalemate with Rio Tinto sticking to its offer of a 33-percent price cut for 2009-10 contracts, while the CISA insists on a deeper cut.

There are more than 700 steel makers and 112 iron ore importers in China. In 2008, the country imported 443 million tons of iron ore, more than half of the world's total shipments.