Brazil loses out to Guinea and India in bauxite export to China in June 2017

Brazil, the South-American country with the third largest bauxite reserve in the world after Guinea and Australia, and the third largest bauxite producer after Australia and China, lost the competition to India and Guinea as one of the top bauxite exporters to China. Brazil stood fifth in terms of bauxite volume exported to the world’s biggest aluminium consumer and one of the major aluminium producers- China in June 2017.

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According to the export-import data released by the General Administration of Customs, China, on July 24, bauxite import by the country from Brazil stood at 207,047 tonnes last month, down 49.17 per cent from the same period previous year. The total bauxite import by China from Brazil during the first six months of the current year was also down by 11.18 per cent year-on-year to stand at 1,375,788 tonnes (1.3 million tonnes).

China’s bauxite imports from Guinea, Australia, Malaysia, India, and Brazil in June 2017 were as follows:

It is striking to note that Malaysia’s bauxite exports rose significantly despite the mining ban. The country shipped substantial volume of bauxite to China overtaking major producers like India and Brazil during the periods under review.

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As per U.S. Geological Survey data updated till December 2015, Brazil’s total bauxite reserve stands at 2.6 billion tonne, while yearly total production stands at 35 million tonnes. The Paragominas bauxite mine, located in the east of the state of Pará in Northern Brazil, is one of the richest sources of bauxite in the world. Fully owned by Brazil's Vale (CVRD), the mine currently boasts an annual capacity of 5.4 Mt of bauxite a year.