Australia’s aluminium ores export rose to 3.45mn mt in May, up by 9.5pc from the prior-year period, when the country exported 3.15mn mt of the raw material. However, the value of exports is expected to drop due to slow recovery of LME aluminium prices, as reported earlier.
China and South Korea continued to be the primary markets for Australia’s aluminium ores, the largest exporter of the material. China imported 3.4mn mt in May, up from 3.1mn mt in the prior-year period, while South Korea imported 43,115mt aluminium ore in May, down from 45,000mt in May 2019.
In May, Australia also exported 104,295mt unwrought aluminium, down by 15.7pc from the prior-year period. South Korea was the largest importer, and had 40,088mt shipped in May, up by 37.7pc from the prior-year period.
Japan imported 19,201mt unwrought aluminium, down by 41pc from May 2019, due to drop in demand from automakers amid COVID-19 related shutdowns.
Taiwan imported 16,268mt unwrought aluminium, up from 5,750mt in the prior-year period, surpassing traditional markets such as the US, Thailand and Vietnam.