China’s refined tin imports fell by 38% year-on-year to 901 tonnes in March according to latest data of China Customs. The total imports in the first quarter were 1,924 tonnes, down by 58% y-o-y. This was the seventh consecutive month of year-on-year declines because of the discount of Chinese domestic prices to the LME for most of the period since last September. China exported 280 tonnes refined tin in March according to the official data, following zero reported exports in the first two months of this year. However actual exports are known to be much greater that the official reported total, as tin is classified as products rather than metal, thereby avoiding export duty.
Although the China domestic tin price was still lower than the LME in the first quarter, concentrate imports were surprisingly high. China imported 9,004 tonnes (gross weight) tin concentrate in first quarter 2011, up by 130% y-o-y. Most of concentrate arriving recently is from Myanmar, while concentrates from Bolivia accounted for a high proportion in the first quarter of last year.
