Chinese steelmakers, the largest consumer of iron ore, will use more domestic supplies after Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce halted some shipments amid a price dispute, the China Iron and Steel Association said.

    Wuhan Iron & Steel Co. and other steelmakers met with domestic mining companies yesterday to discuss buying more iron ore, Chen Xianwen, head of market research at the association, said by phone today.

    Brazil's Vale is seeking to raise prices for Asian mills to match what European steelmakers are paying. The China Iron and Steel Association have said Vale's price demands are ``unreasonable'' and steelmakers are rejecting the push because of a slowdown in demand from automakers and builders.

    ``It was agreed in the meeting that using domestic iron ore fines is absolutely feasible,'' Chen said. More details of the meeting will be published tomorrow by the China Metallurgical News, he said. China Metallurgical News is a publication run by the association.

    Vale is only shipping iron ore fines with a 62 percent iron content to China, while suspending the shipment of higher grades that have 64 and 65 percent content, Chen said.

    Asian customers pay 11 percent to 11.5 percent less than European clients, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said Sept. 9. Vale has denied a Lloyds List report claiming it was delaying exports to China.

    Fines, iron ore in powder form, is the most traded of the steelmaking raw material.