In October, China's total manganese ore imports increased by 0.50% MoM and 5.78% YoY [SMM data].

According to the latest release from the General Administration of Customs, SMM statistics show that China's total manganese ore imports in October 2025 reached 3.1002 million mt, up 0.50% MoM and up 5.78% YoY. Cumulative imports from January to October totaled 26.87 million mt, up 9.29% YoY. The main reasons for the MoM increase in manganese ore imports in October were: On one hand, rising forward offers in the overseas market directly activated market purchasing sentiment. As forward manganese ore prices in the overseas market increased, downstream alloy plants generally followed the market inertia of "rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn," forming bullish expectations for subsequent price trends, thereby proactively increasing procurement efforts. On the other hand, seasonal production factors spurred front-load demand. The downstream alloy industry is about to enter the traditional off-season. More critically, hydropower regions in south China are expected to enter the dry season, where tightening power supply will directly push up production electricity costs. To avoid the risks of rising costs and production constraints during the dry season, some alloy plants adjusted their production schedules in advance, advancing production schedules before the onset of the off-season and dry season. This led to the early release of manganese ore demand that would have been realized later, further boosting the growth in manganese ore imports in October.