China's alumina shipment to Russia in March spurts up due to Western-led sanctions

On Wednesday, April 20, custom statistics indicated that China’s alumina shipment to Russia heightened by more than 90 times in March compared to the same month a year ago, as sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine cut off some of its customary supply.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China transported 9,949 tonnes of alumina to Russia in March, up from 104.5 tonnes in the same month in 2021. Last month its overall alumina exports increased by 180 percent year on year to 12,955 tonnes.

When compared to China's monthly output of around six million tonnes, the amount is still insignificant. However, as part of Western-led sanctions against Russia, Australia placed an export embargo on alumina and aluminium ores to Russia.

Analysts had predicted that Russia would obtain the chemical from China, but there are obstacles, since China must first meet local demand and may be concerned about secondary penalties from the West. China's March imports of refined metal, scrap, and ores were also revealed in the customs report.