BEIJING, Nov. 3, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The room for further hikes in iron ore contract prices is limited, said Luo Bingsheng, vice chairman of China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on Tuesday at a press meeting.

Further, the basic fact that the iron ore market is oversupplied won't change for some time, Luo said.

The prelude to next year's iron ore contract price talks is just unfolding, and a win-win outcome would be ideal, he said. According to the routine, the talks generally commence in December and conclude by March of the following year.

China's discussion with major miners including BHP Billiton (OOTC:BHPLF) (NYSE:BHP) , Rio Tinto, and Vale failed to yield results this year.

Statistics from CISA showed that China imported 123.3 million tons of iron ore from January to September, well above the 66 million tons demanded.

Excessive imports have damaged the normal orders of iron ore trade, leading to surging inventories and massive stockpiles at ports, CISA said in a report.