Alumina production in China grows 2.78% M-o-M to 6.29 million tonnes during July 2021; Daily output dips 0.34% to 196,000 tonnes

In July 2021, China’s alumina production came in at 6.29 million tonnes after increasing by 2.78 per cent month-on-month from 6.12 million tonnes, found the Shanghai Metals Market. According to SMM data, the output in July included 6.08 million tonnes of metallurgical grade alumina compared to 5.91 million tonnes in the previous month.

The average daily output of metallurgical grade alumina in July was 196,000 tonnes, down by 0.34 per cent from 196,800 tonnes in June but up on a year by 6.71 per cent.

SMM learned that the total production of metallurgical grade alumina during January-July amounted to 41.51 million tonnes, an increase of 8.28 per cent from the same period last year.

The month-on-month decline in daily output during July 2021 could be attributed to the tight supply of coal and ore because of flood and pandemic and to the fluctuations in operation capacity in Henan. However, it was offset by stable production in south-west regions and commencements of new capacities.

The net imports of alumina were estimated to be around 300,000 tonnes and China’s alumina surplus was about 69,000 tonnes in July.

As of early August, China’s metallurgical grade alumina production capacity was 72.08 million tonnes per year, with existing per annum capacity at 88.60 million tonnes. The output continued to increase from the new capacities in south-west China, bringing the estimated metallurgical grade alumina production to 6.12 million in August.