According to a report from Customs showed that, in H1 2010, 204 enterprises had the records of importing iron ore, of which, 92 of these enterprises were not in the list of 112 qualified iron ore importers that China Iron & Steel Association published last year.
Customs statistics indicate that in the first 6 months of 2010, the total iron ore imports of top 20 importers increased to 160 million tonnes accounting for 51.5% of the total iron ore import an increase of 4%YoY. It's reported that in H1, 2009, 195 enterprises had the records of importing iron ore.
However, CISA has been long saying that only 112 enterprises are qualified to import iron ore of which 70 of them are trade companies under the steel mills. CISA and CCCMC started since the beginning of 2009 to regulate the iron ore import market, but very few achievements have been made so far.
A market reporter said "It is difficult to explain why there are 204 importers rather than 112. We understand that it may because that Customs didn't conduct the licenses check strictly or even more likely that CISA and CCCMC issued more than 112 import licenses.”
By the end of last week, the total iron ore stockpiles in China 19 major seaports were 74.38 million tonnes, reaming in high level. It is understood that the high stocks can be partly attributed to market speculations. The price of 63.5/63% Indian fines has increased to USD 152 per tonne to USD 154 per tonne and many predict the prices could go up further.