China Unwrought Aluminium Alloy Imports Surged 50% YoY in Mar

SHANGHAI, Apr 21 (SMM) - According to China General Administration of Customs, China imported 120,600 mt of unwrought aluminium alloy in March, up 54.5% YoY and 31.3% MoM. The imports in the first quarter of 2022 totalled 329,000 mt, up 50.2% YoY.

In terms of exports, China exported 18,300 mt of unwrought aluminium alloy in March, up 2.1% YoY and 55.6% MoM. Combined exports in Q1 2022 stood at 38,000 mt, down 21.4% YoY.

In March, China's unwrought aluminium alloy imports mainly came from Malaysia, South Korea and India. The proportion of imports from these three countries fell slightly compared with the previous two months, including 23,400 mr from Malaysia, accounting for 19% of the total imports, 17,900 mt from South Korea, accounting for 15% of the total, and 17,600 mt from India, taking up 15% of the total imports. China exports mainly went to Japan.

The main importing provinces of unwrought aluminium alloy in China are Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu, and the proportion of the three provinces is relatively stable, among which Zhejiang imported 50,900 mt of unwrought aluminium alloy in March, accounting for 43%, Guangdong imported 26,600 mt, accounting for 22%, and Jiangsu imported 11,600 tons, accounting for 10%.

Overall, the import and export volume of unwrought aluminium alloys in March 2022 showed an increase year-on-year and month-on-month. In terms of imports, due to factors such as holidays and imports being at a loss in February, imports in March rebounded to more than 100,000 mt, thus showing an increase MoM. In the first quarter of last year, imported alloys were at a loss of 300-500 yuan/mt, and the importers were less motivated to import. Hence the imports this year also showed an increase year-on-year.
In terms of exports, in the first quarter of this year, subject to higher domestic prices and production reduction due to chip shortage and pandemic in Japan and other countries, overseas demand has declined. As such, exports of aluminium alloy ingots dropped 21.4% compared with the first quarter 2021.

Since the end of February and the beginning of March, influenced by geopolitics and other factors, the overseas energy crisis deepened, leading to the market's expectation of aluminium supply shortage, which shored up LME aluminium. Overseas ADC12 prices rose to a high of $3,200/mt. The import prices still maintained upside momentum despite recent pull-down, resulting in less new import orders. Aluminium alloy ingot imports are expected to fall in April.