Singapore 25/08/2016 - Chinese imports of tin ore and concentrates from Myanmar rose 80.2 percent year-on-year to 36,219 tonnes in July, according to latest customs data.
This took year-to-date imports to 290,338 tonnes, which was up 87 percent from the same period of last year.
Myanmar is China's largest supplier of tin ore, accounting for almost all imports into the country.
Myanmar’s tin production may have peaked at 50,000 tonnes per year, according to the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI).
The longer-term outlook for production in the country's Wa county depends on whether there are new resource discoveries in the next few years; otherwise, production may peak in 2015-2017 and then decline, the industry association said this week.
China imported 492 tonnes of refined tin and tin alloy in July, which is down 51.4 percent from same month of 2015. It imported 4,712 tonnes in the first seven months of this year, which is a decline of 13.3 percent from the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, Chinese lead concentrate imports fell 21.1 percent year-on-year to 102,944 tonnes in July, taking year-to-date imports to 774,266 tonnes. This is down 13.52 percent from the same period of last year.
Chinese refined lead exports slumped 97.7 percent year-on-year to 94 tonnes in June. Exports slipped 50.9 percent year-on-year to 15,024 tonnes in January-July.
Chinese lead smelters are expected to continue to face raw material supply tightness amid falling domestic and global supply, Beijing Antaike said on Thursday.
China has a 10-percent export tax on both tin and lead metal and an export quota system for refined tin. Both metals have been targeted in recent trade cases filed at the World Trade Organisation by the US and the European Union.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)