China’s aluminium extrusion exports in nine months of 2022 grow 2.6% YoY due to low SHFE/LME price ratio

According to the Shanghai Metals Market, China’s aluminium extrusion imports from January to September 2022 stood at 26,000 tonnes, reflecting an increase of 12.4 per cent year-on-year. The trend suggests that the total import volume through 2022 will record growth after six consecutive years of year-on-year decline, thanks to increased imports from Taiwan this year.

China’s exports of aluminium extrusion from January to September 2022 amounted to 707,000 tonnes, up by 2.57 per cent Y-o-Y. By the end of the year, a slight growth in total export volume of extrusion is expected after the implementation of anti-dumping policies by many countries over the past two years, which resulted in sharp declines in the previous year.

Export volume is likely to increase this year as the energy crisis in Europe has affected the raw materials supply for overseas processing plants. In addition, China’s subdued domestic prices of aluminium since March and the low SHFE/LME price ratio will bolster the export this year.

Southeast Asian countries have reportedly generated more benefits from importing aluminium extrusion from China and thus increased their purchases. But on the other hand, increased US interest rates, weaker overseas demand, and the SHFE/LME aluminium price ratio rebound have reflected aluminium extrusion export downward trend. Therefore, the export volume downtrend is likely to replay next year.

Since 2020, many countries like the European Union and Vietnam have introduced anti-dumping policies against aluminium extrusion from China. Thus, to the EU, the proportion of China’s aluminium extrusion exports shrank to 66.74 per cent in the first nine months of the year. To the UK, the proportion of China’s exports fell from 4 per cent last year to 2.7 per cent, while Australia’s share from 5 per cent to 4.5 per cent.