According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC), China's prebaked anode exports reached 211,700 tonnes in July 2026, up 12.18% year-on-year but down 24.40% month-on-month. The export value for July 2026 was US $18.4 million, with an average export unit price of US $1,031.8 per tonne.
By province, the main prebaked anode exporting regions in China in July 2026 were Shandong, Shanghai, and Hunan. Among them, Shandong exported a total of 87,300 tonnes of prebaked anodes, down 60.54% month-on-month, accounting for 41.25% of the national total; Shanghai exported 83,000 tonnes, accounting for 39.20% of the national total; Hunan exported 18,000 tonnes, down 10.60% month-on-month, accounting for 8.50% of the national total.
By country, China's prebaked anode exports in July 2026 were mainly destined for Indonesia, Norway, Malaysia, and the UAE. Among them, exports to Indonesia totaled 95,400 tonnes, up 177.86% month-on-month, accounting for 45.05% of total exports; exports to Norway totaled 26,900 tonnes, up 8.46% month-on-month, accounting for 12.69%; exports to Malaysia totaled 22,700 tonnes, down 64.87% month-on-month, accounting for 10.72%; exports to the UAE totaled 16,800 tonnes, up 6.31% month-on-month, accounting for 7.94%.
Overall, China's prebaked anode exports declined in July, decreasing by 68,300 tonnes from the previous month. The provinces with the most significant declines were Shandong and Hebei, which decreased by 134,000 tonnes and 14,400 tonnes respectively from the previous month. The destination countries with notable declines were Canada and Malaysia, which decreased by 50,600 tonnes and 41,900 tonnes respectively from the previous month. Shipments to Indonesia and Bahrain increased this month, with Indonesia seeing a larger increase. However, as volumes to other regions declined to varying degrees, the overall increase in July was smaller than the decrease, resulting in a reduction in the national total prebaked anode export volume compared to the previous month.
Entering the second half of the year, although prebaked anode export volumes have shown a downward trend, they still increased compared to the same period last year. Recently, overseas aluminum new construction projects and existing capacity restarts have progressed simultaneously: Baitong Energy stated that its Angola aluminum project is advancing normally; Rio Tinto's largest aluminum smelter in Australia has secured long-term power supply guarantees; EGA is investing 400 million dollar to strive to restore aluminum production to pre-war levels by the first quarter of next year, while also working to accelerate this progress.
In conclusion, overseas anode demand is expected to continue increasing steadily in the future. In the short term, domestic prebaked anode supply is sufficient, and overseas orders have shown no significant changes. It is expected that prebaked anode export volumes in August will remain above 200,000 tonnes.
Written by Regina WANG
wangjiaqie@mysteel.com
