China's iron ore imports reached a record 68.97 million tons in January, up 18.8 percent from 58.08 million tons in December, official data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.

Steel mills bolstered iron ore inventories to maintain production ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in early February, leading to a jump in imports of the raw material.

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"Restocking by steel mills to maintain normal operations during the holiday was the main factor driving up imports," said Qilu Securities analyst Du Hui.

The previous record for iron ore imports was 64.55 million tons in September 2009.

Steel exports from the world's largest steel producer rose 9 percent to 3.12 million tons in January from the previous month, the data showed.

Analysts expect exports to extend gains in February to reflect recovering demand in international markets.

China imported 1.64 million tons of steel products in January, up from 1.41 million tons in December.