Statement on imports from Astralia, Brazil 'mistakenly released'
A domestic mining industry association has retracted a statement that said Chinese mining companies want an anti-dumping investigation into iron ore from Australia and Brazil.
Lei Pingxi, executive vice chairman of the Metallurgical Mines Association of China (MMAC), was quoted by the China Metallurgical News as saying on Wednesday that the statement, which was posted on the association's website on July 26, was mistakenly released by a staff member who did not completely understand the "working process."
According to the contentious statement, the association, which represents about 20 large and medium-sized mining companies in China, had petitioned the Ministry of Commerce to open an anti-dumping probe into iron ore from Australia and Brazil.
"Because domestic iron ore companies are facing difficulties, some MMAC members made such a proposal, but the association has neither discussed it nor talked it over with the proper authorities," Lei said.
MMAC couldn't be reached for comment by press time.
The proposal drew attention from the Minerals Council of Australia, which said in an e-mail to the Global Times on July 27 that Australian iron ore producers do not engage in "dumping" their products.
The sudden change of stance confused and disappointed Wu Chenhui, a Beijing-based independent industry expert, who believed such case would have been a good opportunity for China to fight back against anti-dumping investigations initiated by EU and U.S. authorities against its steel products.
"China has reasons to start anti-dumping investigations into iron ore from Australia and Brazil," Wu told the Global Times Thursday.
The world's top three iron ore producers - Australia's BHP Billion and Rio Tinto, along with Brazil's Vale - have dominated the global iron ore trade and furthered their expansion in the Chinese market at low prices earlier this year, squeezing high-cost local miners out of the market, said Wu.
The price of iron ore, the key ingredient for steel manufacturing, dropped to a 10-week low on May 23, down 5.4 percent from its prior close to $52.7 per ton, according to price reporting agency The Steel Index.
As low prices forced high-cost miners to shut, global iron ore output would reach 3.17 billion tons by 2020, rising from 3.04 billion tons in 2016, said a report by UK market consultancy BMI Research in April.
The Chinese association remains confident that the industry can overcome its difficulties through further reforms, as well as by cutting costs and improving efficiency.
Media reports have said 793 Chinese medium- and large-sized mines were shut in the first five months of 2016.
The association said in July that China imports about 85 percent of the iron ore it consumes.
