China’s daily alumina production dropped 0.52% M-o-M in February

China in February 2020 produced 5.4 million tonnes of alumina, of which metallurgical-grade materials accounted for 5.17 million tonnes, according to Shanghai Metals Market.

Daily production of metallurgical-grade alumina averaged 178,000 tonnes, 8.19 per cent lesser than February 2019 and 0.52 per cent from January 2020. Capacity cut at many refineries amidst the deadly Coronavirus outbreak was one of the reasons for the dip in daily alumina output. In January, production of metallurgical-grade alumina averaged 179,000 tonnes per day.

However, some alumina refineries have begun to recover production since late February, as their inventories of imported and domestic bauxite recovered to safe levels after truck transport capacity tightness eased and private mines in Henan resumed work gradually. Xinghua Technology has recovered to 700,000 tonnes per year, East Hope’s plant in Sanmenxia to 1.5 million tonnes per year, and East Hope’s plant in Jinzhong to 2.2 million tonnes per year.

But some refineries in Shanxi such as Xing’an Chemical and Xinfa in Xiaoyi as well as Huaqing, Liulin, and Aokaida are unlikely to recover or ramp up production in the short term. As of early March, metallurgical-grade alumina capacity declined to 62.86 million tonnes on an annualised basis.

In Henan, some refineries are expected to recover production after the heating season ends in the middle of March. SMM estimates China’s metallurgical-grade alumina output in the entire March to come in at 5.34 million tonnes, up 3.28 per cent from February, although the daily output to fall 3.37 per cent to 172,000 tonnes.