Australia's exports of iron ore to China from Port Hedland in May jumped 17 per cent month-on-month, latest figures released by port authorities showed on Thursday.

Overall iron ore shipments from Port Hedland registered at 22.5 million tonnes in May versus 20.7 million tonnes in April. Of these, total shipments to the second-largest economy hit 17.42 million tonnes in May, versus 14.84 million tonnes in April.

Further inspection showed iron ore shipments to Japan reached 2.73 million tonnes in May compared to 2.75 million tonnes in April, while South Korea imported 1.80 million tonnes of Australian iron ore compared to 2.14 million tonnes in April.

A number of China's raw commodity trading houses have suspended their cargo shipments of coal and iron ore in May amid the continued drop of the prices of the two commodities in the world market.