Lithium exports declined amid sweeping pandemic in India

SHANGHAI, Jun 2 (SMM) – More than half of the local governments in India have chosen to lock down the city, and many pillar industries in India are faced with serious impacts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a serious decline in the operating rates of Indian factories, and the operating rates of pharmaceutical intermediaries and API companies are only about 30%.

India produces nearly 20% of the world's generic drugs.Its API is an important link in the entire pharmaceutical industry chain.

Pharmaceutical companies have basically suspended business due to the large-scale lockdown, and the supply chain of India's drug exports to Europe and other regions is currently halted, reported WirtschaftsWoche.

Industrial-grade lithium is mainly used in the pharmaceutical intermediate industry. The Indian pandemic has led to a reduction China’s export orders of lithium, but the impact may be relatively lagging.However, lithium import countries such as US, Japan, and France, which are also affected by the pandemic, are less affected.

China is the largest lithium smelting base, and domestic major lithium manufacturers are concentrated in Jiangxi, Sichuan, Qinghai and other regions. From January to April 2021, China has exported of 216 mt of lithium, an increase of 16.6% year-on-year. The exports are expected to decrease slightly in May and June.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health of India, there were 126,698 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 hours as of May 31.

India, as one of the largest consumers of smart phones, imported about 77% of its products from China. The outbreak greatly affected the exports of China's 3C products, which led to weaker battery demand, and the demand for lithium carbonate in the raw material market declined slightly.

According to SMM statistics, LCO output in Q2 has dropped by 5% from the previous quarter due to the off-peak season of 3C consumption and the overseas pandemic. The mainstream manufacturers have reduced the production, and the purchase demand for basic lithium raw materials has been lowered.