GACC: China H1 iron ore imports rise 6.2% YoY despite weaker demand

China imported a total of 611.2 million tonnes of iron ore during the first half of this year, logging an increase of 6.2% from the same period in 2023, the latest statistics released by the country's General Administration of Customs (GACC) published on July 12 show.

In June alone, China's iron ore imports dropped by 4.3% on month to 97.6 million tonnes, but the volume was still 2.2% higher than in June 2023, according to historical Customs data. The past six months saw iron ore miners in Australia and Brazil, the top two suppliers of the critical steelmaking material, together