GACC: China's alumina imports surge 134% YoY in November to 20-month high

China's alumina imports reached 232,376 tonnes in November, surging by 134.1% on year and rising by 22.7% from October, according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs (GACC). Last month's import volume marked the highest monthly level since April 2024, Mysteel Global noted.

Despite the significant on-month rise, cumulative imports over January-November stood at 970,083 tonnes, down 31% from the same period of 2024, the GACC data showed.

By origin, Australia remained China's largest imported alumina supplier in November, shipping 83,000 tonnes and accounting for 35.8% of the total monthly volume. Vietnam and Indonesia ranked second and third, with 81,327 tonnes and 31,380 tonnes respectively.

On the export side, China shipped 167,970 tonnes of alumina in November, down 12.2% from a year earlier and by 4.4% from the previous month. As imports continued to rise while exports declined, China saw a net alumina import for the second consecutive month, with the net volume reaching 64,400 tonnes last month.

Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan were the top three destinations for Chinese alumina exports during the month.

Over this year first 11 months, China's alumina exports totalled 2.3 million tonnes, up 46.7% from the January-November period in 2024, according to GACC statistics.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com