China has seen it’s total spend on iron ore imports increase to USD $93 billion for H1 2021 according to data from the country’s General Administration of Customs.
June 2021 recorded an 83% total increase in price paid compared to the same month in 2020, with H1 2021 recording a whopping 88.7% increase over H1 2020, for a total additional spend of USD $43.7 billion.
Chinese imports of iron ore and concentrates for June were reported at 89.4 million tonnes, valued at US$16.78 billion. This is a 0.5% drop in tonnage from May 2021, and a 12% decrease compared to June 2020.
Copper ore and concentrates
China’s import of copper ore and concentrates for June 2021 was valued at US$4.1 billion, decreasing by 14% to 1.67 million tonnes compared to the May 2021 total of 1.94 million tonnes. Year-on-year volume increased by 4.8% compared to the June 2020.
Coal and lignite
China imported 28.4 million tonnes of coal and lignite in June 2021, valued at US$2.6 billion. This is a 12.3% year-over-year increase compared to 25.3 million tonnes in June 2020, and a 35% increase from May 2021.
Australian exports to China
Beijing posted an 7.86% month-on-month increase in Australian imports for June 2021. Total import value stood at US$14.67 billion for the month, which represents a 54% surge compared to June 2020. China’s total imports from Australia for H1 2021 totalled US$77.74 billion, a 38% increase compared to H1 2020.