China’s tin and alloy imports surged by 84.1% month-on-month to 1,578 tonnes in June, according to China Customs trade data. This is the highest level since August 2010. Of total June imports, 48% of tin was imported from Indonesia and 26% from Bolivia. The Chinese domestic tin price has been at a large premium to the LME price since the start of May, making import business more active. It is currently RMB 205,000 (US $31,780)/tonne, while LME three-months price is US $28,300/tonne on 22 July. In January-April, Chinese prices were lower than on the LME. Consequently in the first half of the year Chinese tin and alloy imports declined 49% compared to the same period of 2010, to 5,524 tonnes.
According to the official data, China exported 238 tonnes tin and alloy in June, but, as previously reported by ITRI, a high proportion of exports can only be identified later from the import data of trade partners.
China imported 1,747 tonnes of tin concentrate (gross weight) in June, and 16,221 tonnes tin concentrate (gross weight) in January-June, up by 119% y-o-y. Most concentrate imports were from Myanmar.
