According to the survey conducted by the General Administration of Customs on China’s iron ore imports by customs during January to July 2014, Shijiazhuang in Hebei province ranked at the top of the following list, through which the largest quantity of 125 million tonnes of iron ore was imported at USD 113.8 per tonne. Then, 114.94 million tonnes was imported through Qingdao at USD 114.9 per tonne and 56.32 million tonnes through Nanjing at USD 116.4 per tonne in that order.

Hebei province is the largest steel producer in China. Shijiazhuang is an inland city in the province where Shijiazhuang Iron & Steel Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Hebei Iron & Steel Group Company Limited is operating, which boasts of top crude steel production in China.