Bauxite and alumina winners at China commodity trade data

Commodity trading figures for 2014 in China confirms a trend that shows higher import volumes as a result of low commodity prices. Key commodities showed a rise in imports due to falling prices. There are a few commodities in which cases both the volumes and prices went up and these according to a Reuter reporting are the real winners in the story of natural resources demand in China.

The last year was a positive and strong one for bauxite and alumina, the raw materials for aluminium.

Imports of alumina went up 37.7% to 5.27 million tonnes in 2014, while the price of alumina as reported by Chinese customs in December 2014 was $382.34 a tonne, up from $364.97 a year back.

Imports of bauxite plunged 48.3 percent to 36.28 million tonnes. However, this must be viewed in terms of the massive 78.7 percent jump in import in 2013, when Chinese aluminium smelters started stocking up enough of bauxite just ahead of Indonesia's mineral export ban in January 2014.

The price for bauxite in December 2014 was $58.57 per tonne, a rise from $55.32 in December 2013.

Alumina and bauxite show the quick changing trend in the Chinese commodity space.

Australia was the main gainer in Indonesia's decision to ban the export of raw minerals, which became the top exporter to China by boosting bauxite exports to China by 9.5 percent.