SHANGHAI, Apr 20 (SMM) – According to China General Administration of Customs, domestic tin ore and concentrate imports in March 2022 amounted to 28,986 tonnes, an increase of 37.28% year-on-year. The cumulative imports from January to March stood at 88,730 tonnes, an increase of 113.04% year-on-year.

In terms of country of origin, China’s tin ore was mainly imported from Myanmar, Congo (Gold), Australia, Thailand, etc. in March. Among them, 21,582 mt of ore were imported from Myanmar with an average grade of 25%. The imports in metal content from Myanmar was about 5,396 mt. Imports from other countries stood at around 7,404 mt with an average grade of 50%, and the metal content was about 3,702 mt. The total volume of metal equivalent imports in March was approximately 9,098 mt.

The imports from Myanmar region in March posted a significant increase MoM, slightly higher than the previous market expectations of 4,000 mt in metal content. The main reason for the increase is that domestic tin ore processing fees remained stable, and the smelters were highly interest in producing. The production resumption after the Chinese New Year holiday also pushed up China’s refined tin output in March.

On the other hand, the imports from other countries in March remained stable, which were basically in line with market expectation. Nonetheless, there was a slight change in the import volume of mainstream supplying countries in March. Imports from Congo (DRC), Thailand and Australia were large in total volume and significant in growth, while those from Bolivia and Malaysia saw significant declines.

In general, although ore imports from Myanmar in March topped expectations slightly, it is still within a reasonable range after taking into account the smelters’ output data in March. Entering April, repeating pandemic in Myanmar caused disturbance to the raw material supply, and it is expected to short-term closure of the boarder port will affect the import volume from Myanmar. Therefore SMM believes that tin ore imports in April will drop slightly due to expected falling imports from Myanmar.