GACC: China's copper products imports drop 14% YoY in Q1

China imported around 1.12 million tonnes of unwrought copper and copper semi-finished products in the January-March quarter of 2026, down 14.2% from the same period last year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GACC) on Tuesday.

The decline was largely due to widening import losses, a factor that had discouraged domestic end-users from purchasing seaborne cargoes, Mysteel Global notes. In the January-March quarter, Chinese importers would be losing an average of Yuan 741/tonne ($109/t) on every tonne of refined copper they imported during the period, widening