Chinese Bauxite and Nickel Ore Imports in December

Minor Bulks

Chinese imports of bauxite fell by 1.4 Mt year-on-year in December 2020 to the lowest level since November 2019 at 7.5 Mt, customs data show. Despite this decline, total imports of bauxite in 2020 were still up 1.0 Mt on the 2019 level at 101.6 Mt. The annual increase can be attributed to a rise in shipments from Guinea (+3.8 Mt to 48.2 Mt) and Indonesia (+2.5 Mt to 16.9 Mt), which offset a fall in imports from Australia (-2.4 Mt to 33.7 Mt).

Chinese nickel ore imports retreated by 1.1 Mt to 3.2 Mt in December. At 37.5 Mt, total imports in 2020 tumbled by 18.6 Mt annually, owing to a fall in shipments from Indonesia following the country’s ban on exports.