SHANGHAI, Apr. 20 (SMM) – China produced 113.61 million tonnes of iron ore in March, up 15.7 percent on a yearly basis China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. China Iron Ore Futures Prices Drop to Year's Low, with Spot Sell-offs, SMM Reports According to the NBS, the output from January to March was 298.19 million tonnes, up 15.9 percent year-on-year. In other news, Rio Tinto's iron ore production and sales both dropped in the first quarter of 2017. During the period, the company produced 81.56 million tonnes of iron ore, down 9.6 percent on a quarterly basis, and 2.9 percent on a yearly basis, and sales were 81.096 million tonnes, down 12.5 percent on a quarterly basis, and up 0.4 percent on a yearly basis. The company attributed the drop mainly to the hurricane season in Q1, and heavy rainfalls in Western Australia disturbed railway transportation at some ports.