China approved the seventh batch of scrap import quotas for the year 2020 on Monday, allowing imports of 10,423mt of high-grade copper scrap and 1,480mt of aluminium scrap.
China’s Solid Waste and Chemical Management Bureau increased scrap import quotas from 2,150mt for high-grade copper scrap and 1,030mt for aluminium scrap previously issued on April 23. After its announcement on Monday, the scrap import quotas for 2020 added up to 540,184mt for high-grade copper scrap and 478,159mt for aluminium scrap.
Demand for copper scrap increased in China due to supply concerns arising from COVID-19 copper mine shutdowns in Chile and Peru, while demand from Chinese downstream industries resumed. The provincial of Jiangxi has announced a slew of measures for the stable development of its copper industry. The province is home to major copper producer Jiangxi Copper.
China is expected to implement its policy to reclassify scrap metal grades from solid waste to resources, which it announced in January 2020, starting July.