China non-ferrous scrap imports halve in April

China’s imports of copper and aluminium scrap, both, dropped by 53pc in April from a year ago on strict scrap import quotas along with a shortage of supply. China imported 82,605mt of copper scrap in April, down from 174,184mt a year ago while aluminium scrap imports dipped to 71,513mt down from 153,032mt. 

The drop in imports compared to the previous year were a result of lower scrap import quotas issued by the government. Also a lack of scrap supply due to shut down of yards across the world caused a 8.5pc drop in copper scrap imports from March 2020, and a 6.7pc drop in aluminium scrap imports. China increased imports of primary metals and metal ores during this time to speed up smelting activities.

Importers in China have surplus volume of approvals remaining. China issued total quotas of 540,184mt copper scrap and 478,159mt aluminium scrap since January, and has imported 292,377mt and 270,390mt of each from January to April leaving a surplus of 247,807mt and 207,769mt, respectively.