China's iron ore demand in 2009 to drop by 60 million mt: CMMA
Hunan, China (Platts)--30Apr2009
platts.com
China's iron ore demand in 2009 is estimated to drop by 60 million mt
year on year, according to Zou Jian, chairman of the China Metallurgical Mines
Association (CMMA). Zou was speaking at the 7th Far East Steel Conference held
in Beijing on April 28-29.
China's domestic crude iron ore output in 2009 is estimated to reach
860-880 million mt, up by 20-40 million mt year on year, Zou said. In the
first quarter of 2009, China mined 166.72 million mt of crude ore, up 4.21
million mt or 2.6% year-on-year, CMMA figures show.
China's iron ore imports in 2009, however, are estimated to shrink to
around 350 million mt, down by around 21% year on year, Zou noted. This is
despite the fact that China imported 131.53 million mt of iron ore in the
first quarter of 2009, up 20.86 million mt or 18.85% year on year.
China produced 122.38 million mt of hot metal in the first quarter of
2009, up 4.3% year on year. This annualizes at 489.52 million mt for 2009, up
from 470.6 million mt in 2008. As such, China's iron ore (63-65% Fe) demand in
2009 may reach 783 million mt.
Zou also refuted some reports that around 60-70% of local Chinese iron
ore mines have opted to suspend their production due to serious slips in
profits, noting that investments in the iron ore sector have grown by 50%
since the second half of 2008.
--Reggie Le, newsdesk@platts.com |
