China reduced its imports of Iranian crude oil in March by half compared with last year as a result of contract disputes, Reuters reported. Crude imports from Iran in the first quarter were a third lower than the previous year at 346,183 barrels per day, largely because China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (also known as Sinopec; SNP.NYSE, 600028.SH, 0386.HKG) more than halved its 2011 daily import rate. China has been Iran’s largest customer until recently, accounting for over 20% of Iran’s crude exports, but price haggling between state oil buyers and the National Iranian oil Corporation (NIOC), coupled with combined EU and US sanctions on Iranian exports, have spurred China to source oil from other suppliers. China’s oil purchases from Russia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were up 50-79% in March from one year ago.