Brazilian mining firm Vale said it expects to achieve iron ore production capacity of 350mn t/yr this year, up by 8.7pc from a year earlier.

Bahia Mining Company begins production of iron ore in Pedra de Ferro

The first shipment of iron ore from Sierra Leone's New Tonkolili Iron Ore Project set sail for China from the country's Pepel Port on Friday.

A few days ago, Anglo-American Resources Group (Anglo American) released the fourth quarter of 2020 production report showed that the fourth quarter of last year, total iron ore production increased by 10% from a month earlier.

China's imports of bulk commodities such as oil, gas and iron ore from Russia increased significantly last year.

Anglo American's Minas-Rio project increases iron ore production by 4% in 2020

One of the routes, linking China and Malaysia, will help build an efficient and low-cost maritime logistics channel.

Roach said he expects container rates to normalize later in the year after COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out globally.