China’s 11-month aluminium scrap imports scale up 59% despite a fall in Nov’22

According to the China customs data, the average operating rate of secondary aluminium enterprises fell sharply by 51.1 per cent in November’22, and so did the imports of aluminium scrap. As per the data, China’s aluminium scrap imports declined by 14.8 per cent year-on-year and 16.08 per cent month-on-month to 126,000 tonnes in November.

From January to November 2022, China imported 1.39 million tonnes of aluminium scrap, an increase of 59 per cent on the year.

Guangdong province imported 80,400 tonnes of aluminium scrap under general trade, which was down by 18,200 tonnes M-o-M, accounting for 63.51 per cent of the total imports. Guangdong’s scrap imports under feeding processing trade dropped by 400 tonnes to 7,700 tonnes, accounting for 6.08 per cent of the total.

Aluminium scrap imports by Zhejiang province under general trade dropped by 800 tonnes M-o-M to stand at 23,600 tonnes, accounting for 18.64 per cent of the total imports, while imports under feeding processing trade were 1,100 tonnes, accounting for 0.87 per cent of the total.

Aluminium scrap imports by other regions totalled 14,200 tonnes, down by 4,100 tonnes M-o-M, accounting for 11.22 per cent of the total.

China’s monthly alumininium scrap import fall in November was due to the weaker demand at downstream enterprises and rising aluminium prices.

In December, the operating rates of secondary aluminium plants have continued to decline, with downstream scrap users becoming increasingly reluctant to restock due to the upcoming Spring Festival holiday. Hence, China’s aluminium scrap imports are expected to extend decline in December.