China biggest buyer of iron ore

In 2008 India-China trade was at $51.8 billion according to the latest statistics from China’s customs, said Mao Siwei, Consul General of China.

Siwei said, in 2007 India-China trade was $38.6 billion. “In the last three years, each year China imported on an average 80 million tons of iron ore from India. Now 80-90 per cent of India’s exported iron ore is to China, which accounts for around 20 per cent of China’s total imported iron ore,” he said. Siwei was speaking at an international steel seminar organized by the Steel Scenario. He also pointed out that India needs to import around two million tons of coke every year, most of which come from China.

“The near future will see that steel cooperation between China and India will benefit each other in a big way,” said Siwei. China is now the world’s largest steel producer with an estimated output of 500 million tons last year. However, China has turned net exporter. Siwei said, “India’s current production is 53 million tons but India’s economic development has entered into a stage that it is estimated that by 2020 steel consumption in India will reach 200 million tons. The huge demand for the future is creating a scenario for Chinese steel companies to enter the Indian market,” he said.