Tianjin Port. [Photo by Zhang Chenlin/Xinhua]

The Tianjin Inspection and Quarantine Bureau's Nanjiang Port Office imported a record high 51.36 million tons of iron ore in 627 shipmentsfrom January to June, a 20.8 percent increase and 2.6 percent increase respectively.

Australia and Brazil were the major sources of imported iron, according to statistics from the Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Tianjin imported 37.35 million tons from Australia and 4.38 million tons from Brazil, which took up 72.7 percent and 8.5 percent of the total imported volume respectively.

Imports from Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritania, and Ukraine experienced grew during the first six months of 2015. The growth rate of Mauritanian imports reached 402.9 percent.

As the global price of iron in the global market falls, the average price of imported iron lower than domestic iron, causing steel mills to import more. Iron imports are expected to continue to grow in the second half of the year.