According to Comex Stat, Brazil's total bauxite export in June was 643,803 tonnes, increasing 36.8% on month and 189.7% on year. Canada remained the largest importer of Brazil's bauxite with 267,136 tonnes in June, up 173.5% on month and 151% on year. China was the second largest destination in June with 160,135 tonnes.China has been on Brazil's bauxite export list for four consecutive months due to strong demand in the largest bauxite consumer in the world.
Brazil exported 2.73 million tonnes of bauxite in the first half of 2023, up 42.5% on year, including 850,037 tonnes to China.
Some countries like Turkey, Brazil and Malaysia are facing with a good opportunity to expand their market shares in China thanks to continuous expansion of China's alumina capacity and the the export ban in Indonesia.
Despite being inferior in price and distance, Brazil bauxite has successfully expanded its market share in China on the back of high grade and stable supply. According to GACC, China imported a total of 570kt bauxite from Brazil in the first five months, accounting for 25% of the total number from non-mainstream sources in the period.
According to Mysteel's survey, there are three alumina refineries in operation in Brazil, with a total capacity of 10.55 MTPA, and the demand for bauxite is about 26 million tonnes per year, the annual export of bauxite is more than 4 million tonnes. The major mining enterprises in the Brazil include Glencore's MRN, Hydro's Paragominas, and Alcoa's Juruti, and the total production of bauxite of the three mining enterprises was 28.2 million tonnes in 2022.
Source: Comex Stat