SHANGHAI, Apr 29 (SMM) - According to the Customs, China's cumulative exports of unwrought unalloyed aluminium (aluminium ≥ 99.95%) were 2,291 mt in January-March 2022.

Almost all of the exported refined aluminium was sent to Japan from Xinjiang. From January to March, Xinjiang exported about 2,288 mt of refined aluminium, accounting for 99.85% of the total exports, while Japan received 2,236 mt of refined aluminium, accounting for about 97.6%.

The exports of refined aluminium are generally sent to Japan for deep processing to achieve higher purity, which will return to China with higher prices. At present, both the supply and demand sides of China's refined aluminium are growing rapidly, but the demand side lags behind that of supply. In this case, some of the industry players are concerned about the tight balance between supply and demand, which may march toward an oversupply and squeezed upside room of processing fees. On the other hand, due to rising cost in terms of labour, environmental protection and energy, the profitability of refined aluminium may weaken in the future.