Mumbai (Commodities Control) – China’s icy bilateral relationship with Australia didn’t deter the former to increase its import from the latter in May, rather it sourced more goods as compared to last year. Chinese imports from Australia rose 55.4 percent in May from the same month last year said a Chinese media report on Monday quoting the data released by China's customs authority.
In May, China imported $13.601 billion worth of goods from Australia, up 55.4 percent compared to $8.751 billion in May 2020, according to China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), said a report by the Global Times.
Trade between Australia and China also rose 23 percent year-on-year from January to May to $87.88 billion, as per the GAC.
Chinese imports from Australia in May rose because of the rising cost of bulk commodities from Australia, the report quoted Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center at the East China Normal University.
In particular, iron ore prices have been jumping to a record high, which drastically inflated the value of imports, Chen said.
China's imports of iron ore soared in the first five months of this year, according to the GAC. A total of 472 million tons of iron ore was imported from January to May, up 6 percent year-on-year. The average price of iron ore spiked to 1,032.8 yuan ($161) per ton, up 62.7 percent.
More than 80 percent of China's iron ore imports are concentrated in the hands of four major foreign miners, with Australia and Brazil accounting for a combined 81 percent of China's total iron ore imports, according to media reports.
Among them, Australia takes over 60 percent of the total amount of iron ore imports. Although this number dropped by 7.51 percentage points from 2019 after the Chinese steel industry's efforts to diversify import sources, Australia has remained in a dominant position.
"The expansion is not going to last long. Once the prices of bulk commodities fall back to a normal range, trade will show a plunge," Chen said, "many businesses between China and Australia have been damaged due to the icy relationship, but so far it is offset by inflation in the commodity market."
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: +91-22-40015505)
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