Bloomberg reported that Chinese imports of bauxite fell 31% from a year earlier last month after Indonesia curbed mineral exports restricting seaborne shipments of the ore used to make aluminum.
Total deliveries to China slid to 2.14 million tonnes from 3.09 million tonnes in October 2011. Imports from Indonesia plunged 56% to 1.05 million tonnes.
Clarkson Plc the largest shipbroker said that limits imposed by Indonesia on raw material exports since May will cut seaborne trade in bauxite by 5% this year. Courts in the country which accounted for 49% of last year's 82 million tonnes of global shipments annulled parts of the laws in November.
A lack of clarity over future Indonesian export policies has made the outlook for bauxite trade uncertain. It is clear that if shipments are restricted, it would not be simple to quickly replace any lost Indonesian supply.
According to customs figures, supplies of the ore from Australia are limited. The country increased bauxite exports to China by 11% so far this year. China, the world's largest producer of aluminum accounted for 77% of growth in bauxite export trade between 2002 and 2011.
Overall imports of the ore into China fell 8.7% in this year's first 10 months from a year earlier. Deliveries climbed 49% last year from 2010, when they jumped 53% in annual terms.
