September 18, 2012 (Chinavestor) Market overview: China is not rich in bauxite ore resource. China’s overall bauxite ore exploration only accounts for less than 10% of global total. In addition, most of domestic bauxite resources contain low-content ratio. With rapid growth of economic development, China has been importing large amounts of bauxite for the past 10 years.

Because large domestic bauxite demands, China is not expected to export bauxite in recent years. In contrast, bauxite imports have grown rapidly since 2002. As shown in the diagram below, the imports/demand ratio keep growing from 2002 to 2007, then reach a peak in 2008, with over half of domestic demand satisfied by import. However, because of global financial crisis, bauxite price dropped from $63.80 per ton in 2008 to $35.70 per ton in 2009. This caused a decline of import value from 2008 to 2009. After the 2009, imports/demand ratio becomes relative steady, and expected grow back to around 39.3% in 2012.