China April Alumina Import up Sharply on Demand From Refined Aluminum Firms

BEIJING, May 14 -- China's alumina imports in April hit a record monthly high since February 2008, and doubled that in March as the domestic electrolytic aluminum companies have been resuming production, analysts say.

    The country imported 650,000 mt of alumina in April, up 140 percent over March, and its alumina import in the January-April period reached 1.67 million mt, down 2.91 percent year on year, according to the customs data released Tuesday.

    Stimulated by stabilizing aluminum price, China's refined aluminum enterprises have restarted production in succession since February, with the peak in March-May period, some analysts note.

    Central China's Henan has resumed refined aluminum capacity of about 700kt, directly driving up alumina import.

    Wen Xianjun, vice chairman of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), pointed out that the rising price of alumina could also be attributed to recovering demand from the domestic refined aluminum companies.

    China's top aluminum producer Chinalco raised its alumina price on January 19 and April 1 from RMB 2,000/mt at the year's beginning to RMB 2,300/mt now.

    The country imported 439,902 mt of aluminum in April, up almost 200 percent over the previous month, and its aluminum import in January-April rose 118 percent year on year to 703,545 mt due to cheaper imported aluminum.

    (Source: chinamining.org)