BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Prices of imported iron ore should not continue to rise due to rising supply, high port inventories and more steel scrap available, an industry insider has said.

The rise in imported iron ore prices in the past couple of months, was "abnormal," said Jin Wei, head of the China Iron and Steel Association, at a meeting held in Beijing Saturday.

"This phenomena is unreasonable ... The industry must be sober-minded about the oversupply of imported iron ore in the long term," Jin said.

Xia Nong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said China's steel sector does not have a high level of concentration and thus has little say in the global market.

"In the future, the industry must push forward mergers and acquisitions to increase the number of large companies with a strong right of speech and domination in the global arena," Xia added.

Companies can make independent choices under a market-oriented principle, while the government will create a sound environment for the reorganization, Xia said.