TIANJIN - China's Tianjin port saw iron ore imports rise 13.6 percent year-on-year to around 37.86 million tons in the first half of this year, according to Tianjin Customs.

The sustained growth in iron ore imports is attributed to the huge raw materials demand of the country's steel industry and increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, under which domestic steel mills have to increase the imports of high-quality iron ore to optimize the capacity utilization rate of their blast furnaces.

The iron ore imports via the port during the six-month period mainly came from Australia and Brazil, which together provided more than 89 percent of the port's total iron ore imports.

Meanwhile, the port has seen increased iron ore imports from countries and regions along the Belt and Road including South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritania.

The port on the coast of the Bohai Sea is a pivotal shipping outlet for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.