China’s bauxite import up about 14% to stand at a record 9.41 million tonnes in February 2019

According to the latest data from China Customs, China’s imports of bauxite increased about 14% to stand at 9.41 million tonnes in February from 8.27 million tonnes in January. This is one of the record numbers as far as month bauxite import is concerned. Bauxite imports from Australia, Indonesia and the Republic of Guinea increased 1.26 million tonnes in February, contributing to the gains in overall imports. The three countries together exported about 5.6 million tonnes of bauxite to China in February 2019. Bauxite import by China is estimated to stand at about 89 million tonnes in 2019.

China, the world's biggest aluminium producer, relies heavily on bauxite imports, bringing in around 83 million tonnes in 2018, according to China customs data. The country imported about 69 million tonnes of bauxite in 2017. The increase in bauxite import was also driven by the depleting domestic reserve and environmental shutdown which kept the supply tight and domestic prices high in 2018.

Guinea's bauxite exports to China increased by 38.3% to 38.2 million tonnes last year. The West African country beat Australia for the top spot as bauxite supplier to China in the second consecutive year, according to market analysis group Banchero Costa. Import from Republic of Guinea rose to an all-time high of 4.26 million tonnes in January 2019.

Amidst the ample supply of imported bauxite to China with new projects from Alufer and Rio Tinto providing extra supply, the country’s bauxite supply will continue to increase in 2019. Rio Tinto’s Amrun project in Queensland, Australia, shipped its first bauxite cargo six weeks ahead of schedule while Alufer’s first shipment of bauxite from its Bel Air project in Guinea also had arrived in China in late November 2018.