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Iron ore prices should be reasonable - officials

By Hu Yang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-30 17:07

A mature pricing system and reasonable prices are key to the healthy development of the whole steel industry chain worldwide, Chinese officials and industry representatives said on Tuesday during a forum held in Beijing.

The China Iron Ore 2010 Conference, co-sponsored by Metal Bulletin Events and China Minmetals Corporation, gathered industry representatives of the steel and iron ore industries to discuss the community's problems.

Dr Pedro Gutemberg, marketing, research and development director of the world's largest iron ore supplier Vale, said he is optimistic about a quarterly pricing system which will more closely reflect the market demand. But he refused to comment on a previous report that Vale had reached agreement with Japanese steel makers to settle the price at $110 per ton.

Li Xinchuang, executive vice president and chief engineer of China Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research Institute, said the current high price of iron ore is mainly caused by the monopoly of the three major mining companies, namely Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. He said China is seeking to diversify its iron ore resources, including smaller mining companies in Australia, Brazil, Africa and its neighboring countries.

Speakers of the forum generally agree that as the world recovers from the economic downturn, the global steel industry is witnessing strong growth and China, the world's largest steel maker, is the key driving force for the growth.