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

In July alone, Chinese alumina exports reached 229,448 tonnes, marking a 56.4% on-year jump and a 34.2% on-month increase, the GACC data showed.

Most of the July shipments from China were supplied to Rusal, a Russian aluminum 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%, 4.8%, and 2% 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% from a year earlier and 36.6% 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% on year and by 24.4% 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%, 25%, and 21.7% of the July total.

As such, China's net alumina exports climbed to 103,531 tonnes in July, up by 48.5% from June and by 36.2% 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% from the January-July period of 2024.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com