Fortescue says not alarmed by China's rising iron ore port stocks

BEIJING, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Fortescue Metals FMG.AX is not alarmed by rising iron ore port stocks in its top customer China, said a senior executive at the company, adding that the rush to restock has come after months of low port inventories last year.

"Port stocks were aggressively driven down to a low level in mid-2013 and this was not sustainable," Antony Priddy, senior manager of sales and marketing, said at an industry conference in Beijing.

Stocks of imported iron ore piled across China's major ports

reached an all-time high of 100.9 million tonnes as of Friday, industry data showed, trumping a previous record set a week ago.

Stock levels of between 70-80 million tonnes are now considered normal given increased demand from mills, an official at the China Iron and Steel Association said at the conference.

(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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Keywords: FORTESCUE IRONORE/