China’s imports of iron ore in the first quarter of 2011 stood at 177.17m tonnes, an increase of 14.4 per cent year-on-year, reported Xinhua. However the growth rate in March was just 0.8 per cent, as steel mills became increasingly reluctant to pay import prices that were on average US$156.5 per tonne, 60 per cent higher than in the same month last year.