Chinese Bauxite, Nickel Ore and Manganese Ore Imports

Minor Bulks

Chinese bauxite imports rose 1.2 Mt year-on-year to 8.4 Mt in September, extending gains for a fourth month in a row, customs data show. There was annual growth in shipments from Indonesia and Guinea, although the latter were a ten-month low of 2.9 Mt. After hitting a record monthly high in July, total 3q20 receipts climbed to 29.7 Mt (+3.9 Mt).

Meanwhile, the country’s nickel ore imports increased to an 11-month high of 6.2 Mt in September as shipments from the Philippines surged to a record 5.5 Mt. However, the curtailment of Indonesian nickel ore exports meant overall arrivals dropped 2.7 Mt from September 2019.

Manganese ore imports gained to a 2020-to-date high of 3.3 Mt in September (+0.5 Mt on the year) as shipments from South Africa climbed to the strongest level since at least 2017 at 1.4 Mt.