China’s silicon metal exports surged 131% in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 28 (SMM) – China’s exports of silicon metal more than doubled in March, as foreign buyers stockpiled aggressively to replenish their stocks after the Lunar New Year holiday and on fears that supply from China would be disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Data from China customs showed that China exported 82,000 mt of silicon metal last month, up 131% from February and 14% higher than March 2019.

For the first three months of 2020, China’s silicon metal exports stood at 176,000 mt, up 5.1% from the same period last year.

Foreign silicon buyers typically are keen to buy from China to replenish their stocks after the Lunar New Year holiday, and some of them ordered more than usual this year on worries that the outbreak in China would choke off supply, which bolstered silicon prices in China in February.

As domestic trades in China did not recover until late February, deliveries for those export orders were postponed to March, leading to the sharp increase in the export volume for the month.

The volume of silicon metal export trades has shrunk sharply since mid-March, with orders delayed or cancelled and limited new orders placed, as foreign demand took a hit from escalated virus-control measures outside China.  

China’s silicon metal exports are unlikely to maintain their solid growth in April.