China's Imports of Manganese Ore Soars

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 03, 2003

China's Imports of Manganese Ore Soars

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China imported 1.145 million tons of manganese ore during the first five months of this year, up 35.2 percent year on year, and the upward trend is likely to continue for the near future, latest Customs figures show.

Customs experts said the manganese ore was worth 78.28 million US dollars, an increase of 32.6 percent.

China's manganese imports have been growing fast in the past several years due to rising demand from the iron and steel sector.

China became the world's biggest manganese ore importer last year as overall imports totaled 2.08 million tons, a record high, worth 150 million US dollars.

China's steel output jumped to 180 million tons in 2002, and isexpected to reach 210 million tons this year, which translates into an additional demand for 450,000 tons of manganese ore.

China has capacity to produce 2.8 million tons of steel with manganese each year, about 38 percent of its total steel, while its output last year stood at 2 million tons.

The processing trade sector in China accounted for two thirds of the country's manganese ore, or 740,000 tons, during the first five months of this year, up 46.7 percent.

Experts said China's lack of high-grade manganese mines was one of the reasons behind the rapid increase in the imports.

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