Australia's Port Hedland July total iron ore shipment down 2 pct

SYDNEY, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Total (Swiss: FP.SW - news) iron ore exports in July from Australia's Port Hedland fell 2 percent to 35 million tonnes versus the same period a year earlier, port figures released on Thursday showed

Port Hedland, which handles about a fifth of the world's seaborne iron ore trade, is used by BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) and Fortescue Metals Group, the lion's share of shipments headed for Chinese steel mills.

Figures breaking down destinations for iron ore shipment by country were not included in the port data.

Iron ore in recent years has replaced coal as the country's greatest source of foreign income.

Spot iron ore prices hit a record low of $44.10 a tonne in early July after plunging through the first half of the year. Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) with a modest recovery to $56.40 a tonne , they are still down more than 22 percent this year. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Anand Basu)