China's manganese ore imports jump 45% m-o-m in Apr

China's imports of manganese ore posted a substantial rise in April, with the volume soaring by 958,093 tonnes or 45% on month to 3.07 million tonnes, according to new data from the country's General Administration of Customs (GACC).

The significant growth in manganese ore imports occurred mainly because overseas mines increased their shipments to China, given the steady consumption of this ore among smelters whose production of manganese alloys remains high, Mysteel Global learned.

For example, silicomanganese output among the 121 Chinese smelters under Mysteel's regular survey totalled 905,100 tonnes in April, with their daily output averaging 30,170 tonnes/day, the survey data show. The daily record was still very high though it had retreated by 1,081 t/d or 3.5% compared with the prior month.

With the climb in imports, manganese ore inventories at China's major ports mounted steadily in April, with the total volume reaching 6.47 million tonnes as of April 28, up 434,000 tonnes from the end of March, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.

Domestic manganese ore prices struggled to stay buoyant last month, due to the sufficient supplies of ore and the SiMn market's lackluster performance.

As of April 28, the price of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade Mn ore at North China's Tianjin port was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 31.6/dmtu ($4.5/dmtu) including the 13% VAT, lower by another Yuan 1.5/dmtu on month.

During the same period, China's national price of 6517 SiMn had slipped by Yuan 185/t on month to Yuan 6,980/t including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's assessment.

Domestic SiMn smelters have tried to lower their procurement prices of feed raw materials including manganese ore to reduce their production costs, especially as their margins when selling SiMn are currently very thin, Mysteel Global noted.

Over January-April, China imported 10.3 million tonnes of manganese ore, higher by 856,031 tonnes or 9% from the same period last year, the GACC data showed.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.