GACC: China's alumina exports surge 64% Y-o-Y in Jan-Jul

Most of the July shipments from China were supplied to Rusal, a Russian aluminium giant based in Moscow, according to market insiders.

Russia, Oman, and South Korea ranked as China's top three export destinations last month, accounting for 88.3 per cent, 4.8 per cent, and 2 per cent of total exports, respectively, Mysteel Global noted.

Russia remained the largest international buyer of Chinese alumina for the seventh consecutive month. Alumina exports to the country in July hit a monthly record high of 202,672 tonnes, surging by 49.3 per cent from a year earlier and 36.6 per cent from June.

Meanwhile, China's alumina exports to Oman and South Korea stood at 11,085 tonnes and 4,478 tonnes respectively, compared with none and just 1,697 tonnes in June, according to the GACC.

On the import side, China brought in 125,917 tonnes of alumina in July, the highest since March 2024 and soaring by 78.3 per cent on year and by 24.4 per cent on month, the customs data showed. These imports mainly came from Chinese-invested refineries in Indonesia and from Vietnamese alumina producers, market sources said. Indonesia, Australia, and Vietnam were the top three alumina suppliers to China, contributing 49.3 per cent, 25 per cent, and 21.7 per cent of the July total.

As such, China's net alumina exports climbed to 103,531 tonnes in July, up by 48.5 per cent from June and by 36.2 per cent from the same period last year, Mysteel Global calculated based on the customs data. 

During the first seven months of 2025, China's total alumina imports reached 394,200 tonnes, representing a sharp decline of 64.3 per cent from the January-July period of 2024.

Note: This article has been issued by MYSTEEL and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.