In Q1 2022, China imported just 252.7 MMT of iron ore, down -8.5% y-o-y from the 276.1 MMT imported in Q1 2021. This was the worst first quarter since 2017. To make things even worse, Covid related lockdowns are now spreading throughout China, as the country insists on sticking to its “Dynamic Zero-Covid” policy. In 1Q 2022, imports from Australia were down -1.3% y-o-y from 2021, whilst volumes from Brazil were down a massive -24.3% y-o-y from 1Q 2021.