China's imports of tin ore and concentrate from January to February decreased by 43.81% year on year to 33,573 tonnes (equivalent to 10,754 metal tonnes), according to the General Administration of China's Customs (GACC) statistics.
The imports from Myanmar were down by 53.27% year on year to 24,131 tonnes (equivalent to 6,032.5 metal tonnes), while the imports from other countries were up by 16.55% year on year to 9,442 tonnes (equivalent to 4,721.5 metal tonnes). Wherein, the imports from Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Australia remained stable, while the imports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were down by 54.39% month on month in February.
Data Source: GACC
China's refined tin imports from January to February were up by 233.63% year on year to 2,581 tonnes, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Peru, with 1,352 tonnes, 240 tonnes, and 901 tonnes respectively.
Due to the issue of updating Indonesia's export license, only 297 tonnes of refined tin were imported from Indonesia in January, but China imported 600 tonnes of refined tin from Peru to fill the gap. Indonesia's refined tin export quota was reissued in February, and China imported 1,055 tonnes of refined tin from Indonesia, but only 300 tonnes of refined tin from Peru.
China exported 2,181 tonnes of refined tin from January to February, up by 74.88% year on year. So, China's accumulative net import of refined tin was 400 tonnes from January to February.
Data Source: GACC
The imports of tin ore from Myanmar decreased significantly from January to February, mainly due to a sharp decline in domestic tin prices after the Spring Festival and the continuous decline in TCs. During the Spring Festival, many workers returned to their hometowns and operating rates of mines were low, so tin ore imported from Myanmar decreased. Tin prices fluctuate and fall at present, and it is expected that the quantity of imported tin ore will remain stable in March, with about 3,000 metal tonnes imported from Myanmar.
The decrease in imported tin ingots from January to February was in line with expectations. With the improvement of the Shanghai Future Exchange/ London Metal Exchange ratio, the import window occasionally opened, and overseas refined tin was imported. Imported refined tin will be around 1,500 tonnes in March.
Written by Durand Du, duxiaoyu@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com