China’s primary aluminium imports demonstrate a rising trend annually through November 2024

Based on the General Administration of Customs data, the Shanghai Metals Market revealed that November primary aluminium imports were 13.8 per cent down month-on-month but 22.5 per cent up year-on-year.

According to SMM, China’s imports of primary metal in November were 150,700 tonnes, which brought the cumulative imports to about 1.975 million tonnes, up 44.5 per cent Y-o-Y.

Net imports were approximately 132,000 tonnes, as the country exported 18,800 tonnes in the same month. China’s net imports of primary aluminium in November stood 17 per cent down M-o-M but 23.5 per cent up Y-o-Y. From January to November, the net import volume totalled 1.866 million tonnes, recording a 51.5 per cent increase Y-o-Y.

On the other hand, China’s exports of primary aluminium from January to November decreased by 20 per cent Y-o-Y to 108,000 tonnes.

Origin of imports

The main sources of imports in November were Russia, India, and Indonesia. China imported approximately 100,000 tonnes from the Russian Federation, which was 66.5 per cent of the country’s total imports. According to SMM calculation, China’s imports from Russia grew by 3.3 per cent M-o-M in November. The total imports in eleven months amounted to 1.003 million tonnes.

In addition to these countries, China also imports alumina from itself, exporting it to Russia for processing and importing the primary metal back into its own market. Such imports totalled 349,000 tonnes in the eleven months of 2024, accounting for 17.7 percent of the total imports.

Reason for the monthly fall

The month-on-month decline in November imports was primarily due to the unwillingness of suppliers to clear customs and ship to the Chinese market, caused by the widenened price spread between domestic and overseas markets following the cancellation of aluminium semis export tax rebates. For the same reason, SMM anticipates December import volume to go further down both M-o-M and Y-o-Y.