The General Administration of Customs released import and export data for March 2026 today. Customs data showed:
imports of unwrought aluminium alloy in March 2026 were 84,400 tonnes, down 5.7 per cent Y-o-Y and up 28.2 per cent M-o-M. Cumulative imports from January to March 2026 were 240,500 tonnes, down 14.4 per cent Y-o-Y.
Exports of unwrought aluminium alloy in March 2026 were 27,400 mt, up 50.8 per cent Y-o-Y and up 106.3 per cent M-o-M. Cumulative exports from January to March 2026 were 64,900 tonnes, up 20.7 per cent Y-o-Y.
Import source structure, the concentration of import origins for unwrought aluminium alloy in China remained relatively high in Q1 2026, with the top five sources accounting for approximately 76 per cent combined. Among them, Malaysia continued to rank first with imports of 64,400 tonnes (27 per cent); Russia ranked second (47,500 tonnes, 20 per cent); Thailand ranked third (40,400 tonnes, 17 per cent); Vietnam and South Korea ranked fourth and fifth, with imports of 18,900 tonnes (8 per cent) and 11,900 tonnes (5 per cent), respectively.
Export destination structure, China’s unwrought aluminium alloy exports in Q1 also exhibited a concentrated pattern. The top three export markets were Japan (32,900 tonnes, 51 per cent), India (8,000 tonnes, 12 per cent), and Mexico (4,500 tonnes, 7 per cent), while the remaining markets collectively accounted for approximately 30 per cent, indicating a relatively stable overall export structure.
Trade mode, processing trade continued to dominate, with processing trade with supplied materials accounting for 41 per cent and processing trade with imported materials accounting for 24 per cent, together exceeding 60 per cent of the total.
Overall, China’s unwrought aluminium alloy continued the pattern of “shrinking imports and strengthening exports” that began in 2025 throughout Q1 2026. Import side, disrupted by the Chinese New Year holiday, imports in February pulled back to below 70,000 tonnes; after the holiday, as enterprises resumed work and production, imports quickly recovered to above 80,000 tonnes in March. Considering that the import window had remained open for an extended period earlier and orders were arriving at ports in a concentrated manner, imports in April are expected to remain at around 80,000 tonnes.