Exclusive: China's secondary lead output rose to 334,800 mt in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) — SMM data showed that China produced 334,800 mt of secondary lead in March, up 53.79% from February, and up 194.23% from a year ago. For January-March, output surged 218.51% from the same period last year.

SMM survey showed that March coincided with the first month after the CNY holiday. A large number of secondary lead refining companies resumed work after the holiday. In addition, Jiangsu Xinchunxing, Zhejiang Tianneng and other secondary lead refining companies resumed production from maintenance. In March, China's secondary lead output increased beyond expectations.

However, it should also be noted that Guizhou Taijiang Industrial Park, Jiangxi Huijin, Inner Mongolia Taiding, etc. are affected by environmental protection control and production is restricted. Shandong Zhongqing, Jiangxi Qijin, Anhui Camel and others took maintenance in March, limiting part of the increase. In addition, compared to last year, secondary lead output increased sharply in March 2021. With the release of newly expanded secondary lead production capacity, the overall operating capacity base was higher than the same period last year amid the pandemic in March last year, and the progress of resuming work in the secondary lead refineries after the CNY was much slower than in previous years, which was a very low month in March during historical survey.

There is resumption of production, output increase and environmental maintenance in the secondary lead refineries. On the one hand, Inner Mongolia Taiding resumed work ahead of schedule, and Jiangsu Xinchunxing plans to increase production. At the same time, Zhongqing, Qijin, and Tianneng, which resumed from maintenance, continued to contribute to the increase, and they were all large-scale enterprises. On the other hand, due to the presence of the central environmental inspection team, the production of refineries in Jiangxi and other places was limited, and Anhui Dahua planned to take maintenance. SMM expects China's secondary lead output to increase over 20,000 mt to 356,000 mt in April.