China’s metallurgical-grade alumina output drops 1% in January 2023 due to production halt at refineries

In January 2023 (31 calendar days), China’s metallurgical-grade alumina production stood at 6.37 million tonnes, registering a drop of 0.93 per cent month-on-month from 6.43 million tonnes, found the Shanghai Metals Market data. On a year-on-year calculation, the output in January recorded an increase of 1.4 per cent from 6.28 million tonnes.

SMM data also showed China’s average daily production of alumina decreased by 2,300 tonnes M-o-M to stand at 205,000 tonnes. The domestic installed capacity at the end of the month was 97.75 million tonnes, while the operating capacity was 74.94 million tonnes, implying an average domestic operating rate of 77 per cent.

SMM has estimated the net imports of alumina to be 115,000 tonnes at the end of January, with a slight shortage of 97,000 tonnes.

In Guizhou, Henan, and Chongqing, alumina output decreased during January, but that in Hebei increased, and in Shanxi, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan remained stable. The operating rate sharply fell in Henan due to the high production cost and short raw material supply, resulting in a drop in monthly output by 25,000 tonnes M-o-M and 242,000 tonnes Y-o-Y.

In Guizhou, alumina output during January 2023 decreased by 27,000 tonnes as some refineries halted operations in December and January amid local power cuts. But from early February, those refineries began operations, and thus the output might pick up in March.

In Chongqing, alumina output fell 10,000 tonnes month-on-month due to lower production for the tight natural gas supply. However, in Hebei, the output increased by 20,000 tonnes month-on-month as the third alumina production line of Hebei Wenfeng, with 1.2 million tonnes of capacity, resumed production at the end of January.

In February (28 calendar days), China’s domestic metallurgical-grade alumina output is likely to come in at 5.83 million tonnes, with daily production growing to 210,000 tonnes, given the new capacity of Hebei Wenfeng and operation resumption plan in Guizhou and Shanxi.