China’s alumina production falls 2.02% to 67.29 million tonnes in 2020; Output in December increases 1.53% Y-o-Y

According to the latest data shared by Shanghai Metals Market, China’s metallurgical-grade alumina production in the entire year of 2020 came in at 67.29 million tonnes, down by 2.02 per cent on a year-on-year basis. In December, alumina output, including 5.75 million tonnes of metallurgical-grade alumina, stood at 5.96 million tonnes. That was 0.66 per cent lower than 6 million tonnes of production in November 2020, but up by 1.53 per cent from 5.87 million tonnes in December 2019.

Roasting capacity at some alumina refineries in Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi was restricted, leading to the month-on-month decline in alumina output in December.

The daily alumina output in December 2020 stood down by 4.04 per cent month-on-month but up 2.26 per cent year-on-year to 185,500 tonnes.

As of early January, the operating capacity of metallurgical-grade alumina stood at 70.2 million tonnes a year. SMM forecasts the output in January to remain restrained at 5.96 million tonnes, with daily production to rise slightly.

State Power Investment Wuchuan commissioned its roasting capacity on December 25. Alumina refineries in Shanxi and Henan resumed their roasting capacities during the New Year holiday, while some refineries in Shandong recovered capacity in late December.