The Metallurgical Mines Association of China (MMAC), which represents about 20 large and medium-sized mining sectors in China, has petitioned the Ministry of Commerce to open anti-dumping investigations into imports from Australia and Brazil.
China has been raising imports of iron ore because foreign sources are much cheaper than domestic ones, the MMAC wrote in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.
This trend has had a large impact on the domestic iron ore mining sector. Some companies are financially struggling and others have closed, it said in the post.
From January to May this year, imports reached 412 million tons, up 9.2 percent on a year-on-year basis, the association noted. Imports from Australia accounted for 62.1 percent of the total and those from Brazil for 21.1 percent.
Prices have fallen from $135 a ton in 2014 to $40 now. The three top ore producers - Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton - have allegedly been engaged in dumping measures to gain market share, the MMAC said. That's led to a glut in the market, which will continue to weigh on the iron ore prices.
Goldman Sachs said in a report in June that China's demand accounts for 50 percent to 60 percent of global output of iron ore, as well as that of nickel, thermal coal and aluminum.
There's a high degree of industry concentration in the foreign mining sector, which has increased risks and volatility, the Chinese industry body said.
Since the beginning of 2016, it said, 793 iron ore mining companies in China have vanished due to "cheap dumped products," the MMAC noted.
Domestic output in the first five months of 2016 was 471 million tons, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier.
The Global Times couldn't reach the MMAC for comment as of press time on Tuesday.
