China’s Bauxite Imports Up 43.70% YoY in January-July

SHANGHAI, Aug. 25 (SMM) -- According to China Customs, China’s bauxite imports reached 3.74 million mt during July, up 26.12% YoY, and up 7.22% MoM. YTD imports of bauxite from January to July were 24.47 million mt, up 43.70% YoY.

China’s monthly imports of bauxite have remained high since the beginning of 2011, with monthly imports even reaching a record high of 4.5 million mt in May. Indonesia and Australia remained two major countries supplied bauxite to China, with the proportion of bauxite imports from Indonesia in total China’s bauxite imports in July even reaching 84.19%, up 195.8 kt YoY, setting a record high. In contrast, bauxite imports from Australia in July were 540.1 kt, down 19.58% YoY.

SMM believes China’s alumina producers’ expansion and increasing capacity were the direct reason behind rising total bauxite imports. The pace of exploration and development of bauxite in China significantly lagged behind the growth of alumina capacity, which also allowed bauxite imports in 1H 2011 to grow sharply, and such a situation will remain unchanged in the short term.