China Alumina Imports Tumble 71.5% MoM in April

SHANGHAI, Jun. 8 (SMM) – According to China Customs, China imported 102,600 mt of alumina in April, down 71.5% MoM. The share of Australian alumina to China’s total imports surged from 42.6% in March to 95.1% in April. Imports from India, Vietnam and Brazil all fell to less than 1,000 mt, with their share to China’s total imports at less than 1%.

SMM attributes the dramatic fall in China’s alumina imports to two factors. First, China’s alumina supply grew due to production resumptions at alumina producers. Second, trading of imported alumina at domestic ports was poor as imported alumina enjoyed no price advantage over domestic alumina. SMM learned that the Port of Lianyungang reported no arrivals of bauxite in April and saw just two ships of bauxite arrived as of May 24.