According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC), China's total bauxite imports reached 18.33 million tonnes in September 2026, up 18.7% month-on-month and 15.4% year-on-year. Over January-September, cumulative bauxite imports totaled 173.9 million tonnes, up 10.3% year-on-year, with overall imported ore supply remaining at elevated levels.
According to Mysteel's data, Chinese alumina producers consumed approximately 128.79 million tonnes of imported ore on a cumulative basis from January to September 2026. Actual imported ore consumption significantly lagged total imports over the same period, indicating that the imported bauxite market remains surplus for now.
Among China's bauxite imports in September, shipments from Guinea stood at 13.83 million tonnes, up 19.7% month-on-month and 31.8% year-on-year. January-September imports from Guinea reached 138.66 million tonnes, up 17.1% year-on-year.
The September imports correspond to the shipping cycle from July to August. The increase in shipments was driven, on one hand, by a milder rainy season this year compared to previous years, which limited disruptions to port gathering and loading operations. On the other hand, the bulk of shipments came from COA long-term contract miners fulfilling their contractual obligations, with a smaller portion attributable to some customers who locked in vessels ahead of time when freight rates dropped at end-June, leading to concentrated shipments in August.
Over the same period, China imported 4.16 million tonnes of bauxite from Australia in September, up 23.4% month-on-month. January-September imports reached 2.96 million tonnes, up 6.7% year-on-year. Influenced by freight costs, Australian ore has served as a certain supplement to the market amid elevated Guinean ore prices, providing some support to the overall increase in China's total import volumes.
China's bauxite imports from non-mainstream source countries came in at 339,000 tonnes in September, down 35.7% month-on-month and 79.4% year-on-year. January-September imports totaled 5.58 million tonnes, down 51.1% year-on-year.
By country, September imports from Turkey, Malaysia, Guyana, and other non-mainstream suppliers all declined, while imports from Côte d'Ivoire increased. Overall, other non-mainstream countries exerted a mild drag on that month's total import volume.
Recently, the supply of ore from mainstream countries has remained high. Although freight rates rose notably earlier, constrained by high domestic inventory, the price increase for Guinean ore has been limited. However, under the same dynamic of elevated freight costs, the delivered cost of bauxite from non-mainstream source countries has risen markedly, weakening downstream buyers' appetite for such ore and driving the year-on-year decline in imports from non-mainstream origins over January-September.
Written by Regina WANG
wangjiaqie@mysteel.com
