By month, China's imported bauxite totalled 19.25 million tonnes in January and 16.95 million tonnes in February, representing on-year increases of 19.3 per cent and 18.1 per cent respectively, the GACC data showed.

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Bauxite imports in February were lower by 11.9 per cent from January, Mysteel Global noted. This was largely because of the slowdown in cargo handling and transportation during the nine-day Chinese New Year holiday from February 15-23. 

The imported volumes from Guinea and Australia, two mainstream suppliers of China's imported bauxite, accounted for 78.5 per cent and 17.6 per cent of the country's total imports during the first two months, Mysteel Global calculated based on the GACC data.

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China imported 28.4 million tonnes of the ore from Guinea over January-February, up 22.1 per cent from the same period in 2025, according to GACC. The one-year jump reflected increased bauxite supply from the West African producer.

However, Guinea is considering restricting its bauxite exports by early April to support prices, the country's mines minister said on March 18. The proposed export curb is likely to affect Guinea's shipments in April and China's import volumes in May, given the average 45-day shipping time, according to market analysts.

Meanwhile, imports from Australia stood at 6.4 million tonnes over the same period, rising 20.7 per cent from a year earlier.

The volume of imported bauxite from non-mainstream suppliers totalled 1.4 million tonnes over January-February, with Sierra Leone, Brazil, and Laos ranking as the top three sources.

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Note: This news is published under a content and exchange agreement with Mysteel