China’s annual unwrought aluminium alloy imports edge a decline of 11.4% during 2023

In December 2023, China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports stood at 112,900 tonnes, reflecting a slight rise of 1 per cent over a month, showed China customs data. On a year-on-year basis, the December imports edged a hike of 22.3 per cent, bringing the total imports through 2023 to 1.1325 million tonnes, which was, however, down by 11.4 per cent Y-o-Y.

Import sources

In December, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, and South Korea were the five main sources for China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports. Of them all, Malaysia was the highest exporter, accounting for 42 per cent of China’s imports in December. According to customs data, Malaysia exported 47,100 tonnes of unwrought aluminium alloy.

Thailand was the second largest exporter of unwrought aluminium alloy to China, supplying 12,500 tonnes, which accounted for 11 per cent of China’s imports. Vietnam, Russia, and South Korea exported 10,000 tonnes, 8,500 tonnes, and 6,100 tonnes, respectively, accounting for 9 per cent, 8 per cent, and 5 per cent of China’s December imports. Compared with November 2023, the import volume from each country more or less remained the same.

Import destinations

Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Hebei were the top five unwrought aluminium alloy importing provinces in China during December 2023. According to China customs, Zhejiang province imported 52,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium alloy, accounting for 46 per cent of the total product imported by different Chinese provinces.

Guangdong province imported 17,000 tonnes, accounting for 15 per cent; followed by Jiangsu that imported 13,000 tonnes, accounting for 11 per cent; Fujian imported 8,000 tonnes, accounting for 7 per cent; and Hebei imported 6,000 tonnes, accounting for 5 per cent.

Analysis of imports

Most of unwrought aluminium alloy imports in December 2023 were from the orders in October and November. In October 2023, orders for aluminium ingot flowed in as the prices eased from surges. At the same time, imported and domestic aluminium alloys (ADC12) prices stabilised. Aluminium prices kept dropping after November, but overseas quotations for ingots rose to around $2,300 per tonne due to rising input costs.

For January, China customs expects arrival volume at Chinese ports to be around 110,000 tonnes.

Unwrought aluminium alloy exports

As exports were concerned, China supplied 19,700 tonnes of unwrought aluminium alloy in December. On a month-on-month basis, the exports were strikingly up by 25.6 per cent, but down by 3.1 per cent year-on-year. In the entire year 2023, the export volume amounted to 241,500 tonnes, registering an annual increase of 7.3 per cent.