China's iron ore imports fell in May, dragged down by lower shipments from Brazil as well as weak domestic demand.
China's iron ore imports fell by 0.4pc on year to 97.71mn t in May, according to preliminary Chinese customs data. In January-May, imports rose by 6.1pc on year to 516.33mn t, according to Chinese customs data sourced through Global Trade Tracker (GTT).
Imports from China's biggest supplier, Australia, fell by 1.9pc on the year to 61.39mn t in May, driven by lower shipments from Australia's two largest iron ore export hubs — Port Hedland and Dampier port in May. In January-May total imports from Australia were up by 4.3pc on year to 308.78mn t.
Imports from Brazil, China's second-largest iron ore supplier, fell by 5.6pc on year to 16.55mn t in May, driven by Brazil's record-low shipments in May 2026 due to maintenance at mines. In January-May, total imports from Brazil reached 101.97mn t, up 5pc on year.
Imports from India increased by 43.9pc on year to 2.34mn t in May, supported by Chinese steel mills' improving demand in buying Indian pellets for blast furnaces.
China's crude steel output dropped by 2.7pc on year to 84.36mn t in May, dragged down by weak steel demand and squeezed margins during the off-season.
The Argus ICX® 61pc iron ore fines cfr Qingdao assessment stood at $105.15/dry metric tonne (dmt) on 29 May, down by 2pc from the end-April assessment due to weak demand in China.
| China iron ore imports | '000s t | |||||
| Origin | May-2026 | May-2025 | ± % | Jan - May 2026 | Jan - May 2025 | ± % |
| Australia | 61,391.1 | 62,581.8 | -1.9 | 308,782.1 | 295,992.2 | 4.3 |
| Brazil | 16,547.7 | 17,523.4 | -5.6 | 101,968.0 | 97,125.1 | 5.0 |
| India | 2,335.9 | 1,623.4 | 43.9 | 12,420.2 | 11,635.9 | 6.7 |
| South Africa | 2,742.6 | 3,499.3 | -21.6 | 17,058.8 | 17,712.1 | -3.7 |
| Russia | 894.6 | 1,047.1 | -14.6 | 5,198.9 | 5,128.6 | 1.4 |
| Ukraine | 1,082.1 | 1,749.6 | -38.1 | 4,643.7 | 7,194.4 | -35.5 |
| Canada | 1,334.0 | 1,125.1 | 18.6 | 7,806.3 | 5,778.0 | 35.1 |
| Chile | 1,191.2 | 778.0 | 53.1 | 6,660.7 | 3,559.4 | 87.1 |
| Peru | 2,108.8 | 1,660.0 | 27.0 | 10,960.1 | 8,569.8 | 27.9 |
| Iran | 144.4 | 662.5 | -78.2 | 1,356.6 | 2,417.4 | -43.9 |
| Mauritania | 913.2 | 906.9 | 0.7 | 4,307.6 | 3,834.2 | 12.3 |
| Mongolia | 814.0 | 647.0 | 25.8 | 3,489.4 | 3,166.1 | 10.2 |
| Malaysia | 86.1 | 187.0 | -53.9 | 738.5 | 1,045.2 | -29.3 |
| New Zealand | 310.4 | 233.6 | 32.9 | 1,399.3 | 1,127.7 | 24.1 |
| Other | 5,815.0 | 3,905.9 | 48.9 | 29,540.9 | 22,317.2 | 32.4 |
| Total | 97,711.2 | 98,130.6 | -0.4 | 516,331.1 | 486,603.3 | 6.1 |
| Source: GTT | ||||||
