Turkey exported 328,000 tonnes of bauxite in April, including 224,000 tonnes to China, according to Turkey customs data. It's total bauxite export to China was 403,000 tonnes in the first four months, much higher than 128,000 tonnes in the same period last year.
According to Mysteel, some cargoes produced in Turkey were offered at $57/t CIF China of late, which was equivalent to Yuan 475-485/t, VAT included.
Chinese market sees increasing bauxite supply from non-mainstream sources like Turkey, Malaysia and Brazil due to strong demand for seaborne bauxite and the impact of the export ban in Indonesia and the wet season in Guinea.
Apart from a sharp increase in shipments from Turkey, Malaysia has resumed bauxite exports of late after a short pause, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unwashed bauxite were allowed to be exported, according to some market sources. Besides, Brazil exported 312,000 tonnes of bauxite to China in May, bringing the toal export to China to 690,000 tonnes in the first five months, according to Comex Stat.