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PrintChina's top iron ore negotiator suggested that China, the world's largest steel producer, may take a more independent path in setting term iron ore prices in annual negotiations, saying it would not necessarily follow other countries.
China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) secretary general Shan Shanghua, who failed to secure the deep price cut he had pledged in this year's still unresolved marathon talks, also reiterated his call for iron ore term prices to follow the calendar year instead of an April-March fiscal year.
"We will not insist on other countries taking China's iron ore price as a reference and we will not blindly accept prices agreed to by other countries," Shan told an industry conference in the northern coastal city of Qingdao on Friday.
He also said miners offering large volumes of ore should be given favourable term prices, but insisted that all Chinese mills should adhere to a uniform price for iron ore.
Friday's conference unofficially kicks off the 2010/11 iron ore price negotiations, with analysts expecting a 10% rise in term prices for the next April-March fiscal year as steel production picks up.
Shan told Reuters late last month, however, that iron-ore markets would be oversupplied next year as global steel production recovers slowly.
RISING INVENTORIES
He told Friday's conference that China's apparent steel consumption was expected to rise about 120-million tons this year, or about 26%, from last year, although this was partly due to rising inventories, which are now estimated at 40-million to 50-million tonnes.
He also said China would be either a net importer or break even in steel trade this year.
This year's conference will be attended by officials from top iron ore miners Vale of Brazil and Anglo-Australian rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, although they were absent from the speakers.
The attendees list includes top executives in China from both BHP and Vale, although Rio, which had adopted a "take it or leave it" approach to the 33% price cut for 2009/10 that Japanese steelmakers and others accepted, is only sending one marketing manager.
Stern Hu, the leader of Rio's iron ore sales team in China and an Australian citizen, is still being detained on suspicion of corporate espionage, although the Australian government insists his case has not derailed expanding ties with China.
The miners are likely to meet their key Chinese clients, including the country's largest steel maker Baoshan Iron and Steel, whose raw material purchase team leader will attend the conference in Qingdao.
Executives from Australian iron ore explorer Aquila Resources and the country's third-largest producer, Fortescue Metals Group, were invited to deliver speeches. They may also approach potential clients in China, where both steel production and ore imports hit records in recent months.
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