China's reliance on iron ore imports seen to rise -paper

SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - China's reliance on imported iron ore is expected to rise to 70 percent this year from 50 percent previously, due to the availability of cheaper imports, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed executive from Sinosteel Corp Ltd.

Sinosteel, China's largest state-owned steel trading firm, has acted as a broker to import nearly 10 million tonnes of iron ore in the first five months of the year, almost triple the level of a year earlier, the executive told the paper.

"It was mainly because small and medium-sized steel mills in China have turned away from domestic ore to imported ore. As imported ore is more competitive in price, domestic steel mills' reliance on imports this year may rise to 70 percent from about 50 percent previously," said the executive.

China imported 53.46 million tonnes of iron ore in May, down slightly from a record 57 million tonnes in April, while its steel mills are still locked in price talks with iron ore suppliers including Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) and Vale (VALE5.SA)(VALE.N). (Reporting by Rujun Shen and Jacqueline Wong; Editing by Ken Wills)