China imported 52.6 million tonnes of bauxite in the first six months of 2019, up by 30.2% year on year, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets.
This compares with the 40.4 million tonnes imported in January-June 2018. The increase was largely attributed to supply tightness in the Chinese domestic market, resulting from supply-side disruptions amid frequent environmental inspections across the country in recent years. Guinea shipped 27.6 million tonnes of bauxite to China in the first half of 2019, accounting for 52.5% of total Chinese imports and marking a year-on-year increase of 36.6% from 20.2 million tonnes. The price for bauxite, fob Kamsar, Guinea, averaged $37.20 per dry metric tonne unit in the first half of 2019, lower than the average level...