The supply of copper raw materials falling short of expectations has led to the continuous depletion of the inventory of copper anode. [SMM Analysis]

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This week, the General Administration of Customs announced the import data of copper concentrate in March. In March 2025, the import volume of copper concentrate was 2.394 million tons, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. From January to March 2025, China's cumulative import of copper concentrate was 7.108 million tons. In addition, considering the domestic supply of copper concentrate from January to March, the import volume of copper anode from January to February, the expected import volume of copper anode in March, the import volume of copper scrap from January to February, and the expected import volume of copper scrap in March.

SMM believes that the difference in between is that copper smelters can use copper-bearing materials such as lead-zinc concentrate and gold concentrate to support a certain portion of copper production. The result of this is manifested as the continuous depletion of the inventory of copper anode in the supply and demand balance sheet.

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