Imports of unwrought aluminum alloy decreased by 30.6% YoY in April 2025 [SMM Analysis]

Recently, the General Administration of Customs released the import and export data for April 2025. According to customs data:
In April 2025, imports of unwrought aluminum alloy reached 86,800 mt, down 30.6% YoY and 3.0% MoM. From January to April 2025, cumulative imports totaled 367,800 mt, down 11.4% YoY.
In April 2025, exports of unwrought aluminum alloy reached 16,600 mt, up 23.9% YoY but down 8.9% MoM. From January to April 2025, cumulative exports totaled 70,300 mt, down 2.0% YoY.

In terms of import origins, the top five countries for China's unwrought aluminum alloy imports in April 2025 were Malaysia (36,900 mt), Thailand (13,500 mt), Russia (11,400 mt), Vietnam (5,500 mt), and South Korea (2,700 mt), accounting for 42.%, 15.6%, 13.1%, 6.3%, and 3.1% of the total imports, respectively. Among these, imports from Malaysia decreased by 4,300 mt compared to March, while changes in imports from other regions were relatively small.

Overall, the monthly imports of unwrought aluminum alloy in 2025 remained below 100,000 mt, with a decline for four consecutive months. The cumulative imports in the first four months decreased by 11.4% YoY. In February this year, the import price spread briefly recovered from a long-term inversion to near the break-even point. However, from late February to April, overseas ADC12 prices continued to strengthen, reaching a peak of $2,510/mt. Meanwhile, due to the decline in aluminum prices and weaker-than-expected demand, domestic spot prices continued to fall. Imports fell back into losses, with the extent of losses expanding, leading to a contraction in aluminum alloy ingot imports.

Currently, overseas quotes have pulled back to $2,380-2,400/mt, while domestic import spot prices stand at 19,300-19,500 yuan/mt. Coupled with the appreciation of the RMB exchange rate, the immediate import losses have narrowed significantly to 100-200 yuan/mt. However, the import window remains closed, and end-use demand has weakened since April. It is expected that imports will continue to operate at a low level in Q2, with monthly volumes remaining below 100,000 mt.