Malaysia is one of the world’s top bauxite producers and a leading supplier of bauxite to China’s aluminium industry after Indonesia banned ore export in 2014. Over the last two years the amount of bauxite shipped from Malaysia to China increased almost one hundred fold making Malaysia the largest exporter of bauxite to China. But, the random pace at which bauxite mining was growing without any proper environmental rules and regulation created a sense of discontent among the locals and there was serious complaint of the destruction of environment in and around the mining areas.  In January 2016 Malaysian government imposed a ban on the mining and export of bauxite putting a close on all mining activities in order to correct the situation on immediate basis.

An analysis of the trading patterns of bauxite in Malaysia will give an insight about the dramatic boom and the aftermath.

In 2014, Malaysia exported 3.2 million tons of bauxite globally. The total value of aluminium export was USD 169 million. The amount of export in 2013 was just 154044 tons. The amount jumped up to 24.3 million tons in 2015 registering a whopping growth of about 650 per cent. In 2015, bauxite mining delivered USD $1.1 billion revenue to the exporters. The top and exclusive importer of bauxite from Malaysia was China accounting for more than 99% of the export. India and Thailand are estimated to import a small amount from Malaysia in 2015. 2015 is the year of dramatic growth in bauxite mining which led to the mining and export ban in January 2016. 

The Government of Malaysia put a halt on all mining activities and fresh export and ordered to clear about 10 million tons of bauxite stockpiled at the Kuantan port with immediate effect through issuing of Approved Permits (APs). The government strictly supervised the clearing process to avoid any additional hoarding.

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Despite the implementation of the moratorium in January 2016, bauxite stockpile stands at a sizeable 4.15 million metric tonnes currently. The data shows Malaysia has exported about 4.5 million tons of bauxite in 2016 till date. This is just a clearance of the bauxite stockpiles in the port. The only countries to import bauxite from Malaysia in 2016 are China and Japan and China holds about 99% of the total export.  

According to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry of Malaysia, the moratorium on bauxite mining in Pahang may extend until 2018 as the huge stockpile of bauxite is cleared completely and environmental regulations are in place.