The proportion of imported EQ copper cathode in China will increase in the first half of 2025!

In H1 2025, China imported 1.6461 million mt of copper cathode, with imports from countries mainly producing unregistered copper cathode reaching 1.1099 million mt, accounting for as high as 67.43%.

From the perspective of the proportion of unregistered copper cathode imports from countries mainly producing unregistered copper cathode from 2022 to 2025, this proportion has increased year by year. Entering 2025, with the overall decline in imports and the US siphoning off copper cathode imports from China, this proportion has reached a new high.

From a country-by-country perspective, the DRC and Russia remain the "main sources" of China's copper cathode imports. SMM has compiled data on the proportion of copper cathode imports from these two countries in China from 2022 to 2025 and found that after entering 2023, imports from the DRC have gradually increased, while imports from Russia have shown a phased surge. When Russian copper cathode supplies are concentrated in the domestic trade market, EQ copper prices are significantly suppressed.

Looking ahead to H2, the volume of copper cathode imports from countries mainly producing unregistered copper cathode is expected to remain high, but attention should be paid to the impact of transportation issues in the Congo region on actual arrivals. A large amount of Russian copper cathode supplies that were previously canceled from LME Rotterdam warehouses have still not flowed into the Chinese market in large quantities. If these supplies are concentrated in circulation in the future, it will also increase the proportion of unregistered imports.