Driven by Brazil and Australia, the growth of global iron ore production will accelerate in recent years.

The latest report from Fitch Solutions, a market research firm, stresses that global iron ore production grew by an average of 2.4 per cent between 2021 and 2025, compared with minus 2.0 per cent in the previous five years. Compared with 2020 levels, this will increase global annual iron ore production by 378 million tons in 2025, about equivalent to the combined production of India and Russia in 2020.

According to the report, supply growth will be mainly driven by Brazil and Australia.

Fitch Solutions predicts that Brazil's iron ore production will grow at an average annual rate of 5.9 per cent by 2021, from 391 million tons in 2020 to 529 million tons in 2025. Australia's iron ore production will grow at an average annual rate of 1.7% between 2021 and 2025.

Fitch Solutions predicts that lower prices will eventually drag down production growth after 2025. It forecasts an average annual production growth rate of only 0.4% from 2026 to 2030, and production levels will stagnate by the end of the decade.