According to data from the General Administration of Customs, domestic primary aluminium imports in March 2026 amounted to approximately 255,000 tons, representing a month-on-month increase of 26.5% and a year-on-year increase of 14.8%; cumulative domestic primary aluminium imports for January to March 2026 totaled approximately 646,000 tons, up 10.6% year-on-year. In March, domestic primary aluminium exports amounted to approximately 15,000 tons, representing a month-on-month increase of 45.9% and a year-on-year rise of 65.4%. Cumulative primary aluminium exports for January–March totaled approximately 38,000 tons, marking a year-on-year increase of around 82.3%. Net imports of primary aluminium in March stood at 240,000 tons, up 25.4% month-on-month and 12.7% year-on-year; Cumulative net imports of primary aluminium from January to March were approximately 608,000 tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. (The above import and export data are based on customs codes 76011090 and 76011010.)

In terms of the origin of imported primary aluminium, 82.3% of the total imports in March came from the Russian Federation, 5.8% from India, 4.7% from Indonesia, and 4.5% from Australia.

By trade method, the proportion of primary aluminium imports under the general trade regime for January–March was 4.0%, 1.3% and 1.7% respectively, representing year-on-year declines of 23.6, 27.2 and 21.3 percentage points. In terms of aluminium price trends, LME aluminium has outperformed SHFE aluminium, with the SHFE/LME ratio falling. As imports under the general trade regime have decreased, it cannot be ruled out that a significant volume of goods from bonded zones may be re-exported to other overseas countries in the future.

Long-term import contracts for March and some previously signed import orders were executed as usual. Combined with the arrival of goods in transit, primary aluminium import volumes remained at high levels. However, judging by current fundamentals, there is a significant shortfall in overseas primary aluminium supplies, and the inflection point for domestic primary aluminium inventories has not yet been reached. Consequently, the loss margin on primary aluminium imports expanded to a maximum of 4,852.47 yuan per ton in April. It is anticipated that some of these imported primary aluminium shipments will subsequently be redirected or transhipped to countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, India, and even Europe and the United States.

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