The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics has predicted that China will overtake Japan as the world's biggest importer of iron ore this year. In its forecasts for 2003, the bureau said world crude steel output would rise by 3.1 per cent in 2003. Two-thirds of the increase will come from Asia, principally China, where steel production is increasing to support infrastructure construction and the booming economy. The bureau also forecast that Australia, the world's leading iron ore producer, would be the principal beneficiary of this increased demand because of transport cost advantages over rivals such as Brazil.