BEIJING: The latest data released by the Chinese Customs authorities suggest marginal rise in imports of tin ore and concentrates. However, the imports of refined tin by the country have declined during the month of November this year. The gross weight of tin ore and concentrate imports by the country during November this year was 44,533 tonnes with an estimated 5,300 tonnes contained tin. The imports of ores and concentrates were up sharply by 17% over the previous year. The country’s imports had totaled 38,062 tonnes during November last year.
The primary supplier of ore and concentrates was Myanmar. Myanmar accounted for nearly 99.7% of the Chinese imports during the month. Bulk of the imports was through the border with Myanmar’s Wa County. The cumulative imports from Myanmar during the initial eleven-month period of the year totaled 46,720 tonnes gross weight with an estimated 51,000 tonnes contained tin. The ore trade from Mayanmar was boosted by processing of stockpiled low grade ore, on account of declining mine production. The concentrate supply from Myanmar may decline next year due to depletion of local stock. However, the supply reduction on account of lower imports will be partially balanced by anticipated restarts of idled mine capacity by China. Meantime, refined tin imports by China declined sharply by 36% over the previous year to 8,396 tonnes in November this year, as compared with the imports of 13,118 tonnes in November 2015. The fall in imports is mainly attributed to the price differentials between China and the rest of the world. Moreover, supplies from Bolivia, which had surged higher significantly during the previous two months, returned to normal levels during November this year.
The exports of refined tin continued to remain negligible in November. However, exports of tin products not subject to export duty totaled 713 tonnes. The year-to-date exports totaled 4,486 tonnes, significantly higher by 8% over the previous year. The imports of tin ores and concentrates by the country had jumped significantly higher during the month of October this year. The imports had totaled 36,515 tonnes, more than double when matched with the previous month imports. Also, the imports had surged higher by nearly 35% when matched with the year before. Also, the country’s refined tin imports during the month had totaled 1,237 tonnes, rising by nearly 14% over the previous month. The Oct ’16 imports were up significantly by 55% over the previous year. Meantime, preliminary figures released by the Indonesian Trade Ministry suggests considerable drop in tin exports by the country during the month of November this year, in comparison with the previous month. The exports declined by almost one-fourth over the previous month to 4,892 tonnes. The cumulative exports dropped by 18% year-on-year during January to November this year, totaling 57,508 tonnes. ITRI noted that ICDX activity remained subdued in early November this year, but witnessed recovery in volumes towards the end of the month. Going by the current trend, the country’s refined tin production is expected to total around 66,400 tonnes during the entire year 2016.
