According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, China's copper scrap import market continued to recover in July 2026, with imports up both YoY and MoM. In July, China imported 219,100 mt in physical content of copper scrap and shredded copper scrap, up 3.89% MoM and up 15.29% YoY, continuing the growth trend from June. From January to July, China's cumulative imports of copper scrap reached 1.4606 million mt in physical content, up 9.37% YoY, indicating a stable and improving overall import market. (HS code: 74040000)
From the perspective of import supply structure, the import source landscape of China's copper scrap remained stable in July. The top source countries remained Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, occupying the core share of China's imports. Meanwhile, supplies from multiple European countries surged explosively, breaking the previous supply landscape dominated by Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The trend of import diversification became more prominent, and China's copper scrap import channels continued to broaden.
Thailand: In July, China imported 36,700 mt in physical content of copper scrap from Thailand, accounting for 16.76% of the month's total imports, up 6.83% YoY, and pull back slightly by 1.56% MoM. Thailand remained the largest source of copper scrap for China, with stable overall supply, continuing to provide core raw material support to the Chinese market.
Japan: In July, China imported 35,200 mt in physical content from Japan, accounting for 16.06% of the total, down 2.63% YoY and down 2.55% MoM. Although both YoY and MoM figures weakened slightly, the import base remained high, and Japan remained an important source of copper scrap for China.
South Korea: In July, China imported 12,200 mt in physical content from South Korea, accounting for 5.55% of the total, up 22.09% YoY and down 9.60% MoM. South Korea has maintained positive YoY growth for multiple consecutive months, with stable contribution to supply growth.
Europe became the biggest highlight of the month's imports, with supplies from multiple countries surging. Spain imported 11,900 mt in physical content, up 110.05% YoY; UK imported 10,600 mt, up 15.00% YoY; Canada imported 9,800 mt, up 56.27% YoY. The large release of European supplies effectively supplemented China's raw material supply.
For other regions: Taiwan, China imported 8,615 mt, up 47.49% YoY; Saudi Arabia imported 7,168 mt, down 12.95% YoY and down MoM. Some niche countries in the Middle East experienced wild fluctuations MoM, with Yemen, UAE, and other countries seeing big ups and downs MoM. Their overall base is small, with limited impact on the total volume.
The rigid procurement demand for compliant raw materials in China continued to release. The circulation of compliant copper scrap with invoices in China remained tight, and domestic trade raw material prices stayed high. Downstream enterprises such as secondary copper rod, copper billet, and secondary copper smelting, due to environmental protection and tax compliance considerations, maintained rigid procurement of imported copper scrap with complete customs documentation, supporting July imports to stay high.
The pace of shipments from major overseas supplying countries recovered, and new supply sources from Europe materialized, further supporting the import data. But the core constraints of the industry have not been lifted, and the pattern of "high raw material costs, weak end-use consumption" continues, restricting a significant expansion of imports. LME copper prices consolidate at highs, traders outside China hold prices firm, import profit margins are limited, and traders mostly focus on purchasing as needed;
SMM expects that copper scrap imports in August-September will continue to consolidate at highs, making it difficult to see a sustained significant surge. The structural gap in compliant copper scrap in China is difficult to improve in the short term, while rigid demand for smelting continues; diversified supply sources from Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East continue to release, and the probability of a significant pullback in imports is low. 
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