Analysis of China's Alumina Imports and Exports in October 2025: Imports Surge 215.64% Month-on-Month Shifting to Net Importer Status

SMM, November 25:

In October 2025, China's alumina import and export volumes showed significant changes: imports reached 189,300 metric tons, up 215.64% month-on-month but surging 2,927.91% year-on-year; exports totaled 175,680 metric tons, down 28.71% month-on-month but rising 3.21% year-on-year.
From January to October 2025, China's cumulative alumina imports totaled 737,800 metric tons, down 43.47% year-on-year. Cumulative exports reached 2,175,300 metric tons, up 54.71% year-on-year. China recorded a net alumina import deficit of 1,437,500 metric tons.

October 2025 showed a net import pattern, with a net import volume of 13.6 thousand tonnes for China. China's alumina imports mainly originated from Australia and Indonesia. Imports from Australia were 108.3 thousand tonnes, and from Indonesia were 46 thousand tonnes, together accounting for 81.5% of total imports. The domestic alumina spot price persistently remained higher than the converted price of overseas alumina at China's mainstream ports during October, creating considerable import profits and driving the increase in overseas alumina imports.

From January to October 2025, China exported 1.679 million tonnes of alumina to Russia, accounting for 77.18% of the total export volume. Although exports to Russia declined in October, the overall scale remained stable.

As of today, looking at the price spread structure, even though the converted price of overseas alumina at China's mainstream ports has now exceeded the domestic index price, the spot price in southern regions remains higher than the import cost, indicating the import window is still open, which continues to exert some pressure on the domestic market.

It is forecasted that China's alumina import window will remain open in November, while the export window is expected to stay closed. However, the overall scale of overseas alumina imports is projected to slightly decrease compared to October. Alumina imports and exports in November are expected to roughly balance.