China’s aluminium scrap import during Jan-Feb 2019 falls 33.41% YoY

According to Shanghai Metals Market, China in the first two months of 2019 imported 206,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap in total, compared with 309,500 tonnes of import in the same period last year. Therefore, the country’s aluminium scrap import through January and February stood down 33.41 per cent or 103,500 tonnes year on year.

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China’s aluminium scrap import in the same period last year was also down from the previous year by 9 per cent, which means the scrap import volume during January-February 2017 was around 337,355 tonnes (approx.).

The aluminium scrap import had been limited year over year because of the policies and restrictions that were imposed upon the import of aluminium scrap in China. Prerequisites on the level of impurity in imported scrap aluminium had also been affecting scrap supply in the domestic market.

Shanghai Metals Market also found that China’s exports of unwrought aluminium alloy rose 15,300 tonnes or 21.62 per cent during January–February 2019.

Chinese aluminium alloy producers usually use imported aluminium scrap as raw materials to avoid the government’s duties of 15 per cent on exports of unwrought aluminium alloy. Such exports of unwrought aluminium alloy accounted for 95.93 per cent of the total in 2018.

SMM believes higher exports of unwrought aluminium alloy in January-February 2019 are primarily driven by the exports of aluminium alloy that produced from primary aluminium.