SHANGHAI, Apr 4 (SMM) – China imported 6.1 million mt of bauxite in February, up 43.7% year on year, latest customs data showed.

However, the volume registered a 13.4% decline from January due to the Chinese New Year holiday. Only imports from Brazil recorded a month-on-month increase.

We expect imports from Australia to rise in April following Metro Mining commissions its Bauxite Hills mine this month. The country exported around 2 million mt of bauxite to China over the past couple of months.

One shipment from Turkey was understood to be used to mix with local bauxite in Henan and Shanxi provinces in a bid to solve the supply shortage.

Malaysia, meanwhile, also saw a first bauxite shipment to China since November.

The average import price for February stood at $54/mt, level with that in January.    

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