Arrivals of Cobalt-Based Raw Materials Surged 5% in January-February, Oversupply Remained

SHANGHAI, Apr 14 - According to customs data, China imported 9,000 mt of cobalt-based raw materials in metal content in January, down 24% MoM, but up 8% YoY. China imported 7,700 mt of cobalt raw materials in metal content in February, down 14% MoM, but up 0.9% YoY. From January to February 2023, imports totalled 17,000 mt in metal content, up 5% year on year.

28 mt in metal content (Co content at 8%) of cobalt ore was imported in January, down 88% month on month and 92% year on year. Imports of cobalt ore were 313 mt in metal content (calculated at 8% grade) in February, up 1,010% month-on-month and 137.8% year-on-year. Imports of cobalt ore totalled 341 mt in metal content in the first two months of 2023, down 28% year-on-year.

In January, the import volume of cobalt hydrometallurgical intermediate products was 8,500 mt in metal content (Co content at 30%), down 26% on the month but up 12% on the year, and the import volume in February was 7,200 mt in metal content, down 15% from January and down 0.2% on the year.  The imports of cobalt hydrometallurgical intermediate products totalled 16,000 mt in metal content from January to February, up 5.9% year-on-year.

Imports of unwrought cobalt were 474 mt in metal content (converted to 99.8% grade) in January, up 471% MoM and 31% YoY. Imports of unwrought cobalt were 216 mt in Co content (calculated at 99.8% grade), down 54% month-on-month and 31% year-on-year. Imports of unwrought cobalt totalled 690 mt in metal content from January to February, up 2% year-on-year.

The average import price of cobalt hydrometallurgical intermediate products was $29,729/mt in metal content in January 2023, down 13% month-on-month and 52% year-on-year. The average import cobalt hydrometallurgical intermediate products was $25,011/mt in metal content in February 2023, down 16% month-on-month and 61% year-on-year. The average price stood at $27,564/mt in metal content in the first two months of 2023.  

The top three importers were Zhejiang, Hunan and Guangdong in January. Although Zhejiang ranked first, its import volume decreased by 34% month-on-month. Imports by Hunan increased by 8% month-on-month, and Guangdong saw a 10% month-on-month growth in import volume. The top three importers in February were Fujian, Hubei and Zhejiang. Fujian ranked first in import volume, up 235% month-on-month. Hubei's import volume increased by 122% month-on-month, and Zhejiang Province's import volume decreased by 50% month-on-month in February.

From January to February 2023, imports of cobalt-based raw materials rose 5% year on year. This is likely due to arriving shipments of cobalt intermediate products were booked last year. Due to the general elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the unstable political situation in the country may affect the local land transportation of cobalt intermediates to South African ports. Considering that cobalt salt enterprises still have a certain inventory of intermediate products, SMM expects that the arrivals of cobalt intermediate products in March may decrease from the previous month.