Bloomberg – Cargoes from Australia, the top exporter, accounted for 64 per cent of China’s imports last year from 59 per cent in 2014 and 51 per cent the year before. Brazil’s share rose to 20 per cent in 2015, 2 percentage points higher than in 2014.
The figures from customs data signal that the strategies pursued by Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton in Australia and Brazil’s Vale of raising output to defend market share may be paying off as prices tumble.
The price of iron ore sank 39 per cent last year as supply topped demand, growth slowed in China and lower energy costs and producer currencies enabled miners to pare costs.