GACC: China's ferrochrome imports rebound 19% MoM in August

Over January-August, China's imports of HC FeCr totaled around 1.12 million tonnes, plunging 39% from the same eight months of last year, the GACC data show. Kazakhstan remained the top supplier, delivering 637,270 tonnes – though this was down 6.4% on year – while South Africa shipped only 181,616 tonnes, tumbling 78.1%.

India emerged as a significant alternative supplier, shipping 20,879 tonnes of the ferroalloy to China last month, leaping 146.4% year on year to take the eight-month total to 134,004 tonnes, soaring 50.9%.

Kazakhstan's share of China's January-August import total climbed to 57.1% from 37.2% a year earlier, while South Africa's shrank to 16.3% from 45.4%.

In August alone, though FeCr imports from Kazakhstan slipped 12.6% on month to 73,817 tonnes, this was still the largest single-source volume, the China Customs numbers show, despite the fact that the total was down 3.9% from August last year. South African shipments, which fell to zero in July, recovered to 50,316 tonnes last month, but this was still 17.4% below the same month last year.

South Africa's ferrochrome industry has been battling soaring electricity costs for years, with power prices rising dramatically since 2008, as Mysteel Global reported. High costs have forced many smelters to shut down, leaving only a fraction of the country's facilities still operational.

The widening gap between Kazakhstan and South Africa underscores a structural shift in China's ferrochrome import mix, with South Africa's share continuing to shrink even as monthly volumes fluctuate.

Meanwhile, South Africa's chrome ore exports to China remain elevated, suggesting the country is still supplying feedstock to Chinese smelters. In August, China imported some 1.89 million tonnes of chrome ore from South Africa, down 13.1% month on month but up 7.8% year on year, the GACC statistics suggest.

Written by Tiffany Hou, houtianhui@mysteel.com

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