Data released by the online customs statistics query platform showed that China’s refined tin imports were 1,101.12 mt in January 2026, down 28.86% MoM and down 52.82% YoY. Indonesia was the largest origin, with refined tin imports from Indonesia at 613.8 mt that month, down 3.53% MoM and down 66.36% YoY. Russia was the second-largest origin, with refined tin imports from Russia at 158.06 mt that month, up 691.52% MoM. Below is a breakdown of China’s refined tin imports in January 2026 compiled based on data from the official website of the General Administration of Customs: Source: General Administration of Customs Note: 1. Refined tin includes unwrought non-alloy tin (refined tin). 2. The total imports (total) also include data for certain origins not listed in the table above. (Wenhua Composite)

Data released by the online query platform for customs statistics showed that China imported 2,310,344.42 mt of copper ore and concentrates in February 2026, down 11.93% MoM and up 5.96% YoY. Chile was the largest origin, with imports of copper ore and concentrates from Chile totaling 747,321.72 mt in the month, down 4.27% MoM and down 1.33% YoY. Peru was the second-largest origin, with imports of copper ore and concentrates from Peru totaling 489,372.44 mt in the month, down 28.31% MoM and down 20.67% YoY. Below is a breakdown of China’s imports of copper ore and concentrates in February 2026, compiled based on data from the official website of the General Administration of Customs of China: Source: General Administration of Customs Note: The total import/export volume (grand total) also includes partial origin data not listed in the table above (Wenhua Composite)

Data released by the online query platform of customs statistics showed that China’s imports of copper ore and its concentrates in January 2026 were 2,623,162.74 mt, down 3.00% MoM and up 4.02% YoY. Chile was the largest origin, with China importing 780,640.92 mt of copper ore and its concentrates from Chile that month, down 21.10% MoM and down 7.54% YoY. Peru was the second-largest origin, with China importing 682,585.86 mt of copper ore and its concentrates from Peru that month, up 26.59% MoM and up 2.90% YoY. Below is a breakdown of China’s imports of copper ore and its concentrates in January 2026, compiled based on data from the official website of the General Administration of Customs of China: Source: General Administration of Customs Note: The total import/export volume (total) also includes data for some origins not listed in the table above (Wenhua Composite)

Data released by the online query platform of customs statistics showed that China’s copper cathode imports in February 2026 were 203,588.22 mt, down 18.78% MoM and down 33.28% YoY. The DRC was the largest origin, with China importing 70,661.8 mt of copper cathode from the DRC during the month, down 33.06% MoM and down 28.63% YoY. Chile was the second-largest origin, with China importing 25,429.03 mt of copper cathode from Chile during the month, up 8.18% MoM and down 32.18% YoY. The following is a breakdown of China’s copper cathode imports in February 2026, compiled based on data from the official website of the General Administration of Customs: Source: General Administration of Customs Note: 1. Including unwrought copper cathode with a copper content >99.9935%; unwrought other refined copper cathode; unwrought refined copper wire bars; unwrought refined copper cathode sections; unwrought refined copper billets; and other unwrought refined copper. 2. The total imports (grand total) also include data for some origins not listed in the table above. (Wenhua Composite)

It is worth noting that the overall overseas ternary cathode demand outlook for 2026 remains subdued. The U.S. market has been sluggish since the fourth quarter of last year, prompting many overseas manufacturers to place their hopes on the European market.

By late March, the consumption driven by dealers' customary post-holiday restocking in the lead-acid battery market had been largely released. Meanwhile, end-use consumption in the e-bike and automotive battery markets was generally mediocre, especially as the impact of the new national standard for e-bikes disrupted supporting orders for new vehicles, and some lead-acid battery enterprises only maintained production based on sales. Lead prices fell this week. In the initial stage, downstream enterprises restocked at lower prices based on demand, but after lead prices fell again in the second half of the week, some enterprises became more cautious in procuring raw lead materials.

SMM News on March 20: The most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened at around 16,461 yuan/mt intraday. Affected by broad declines across base metals, lead prices moved in a unilateral downward trend overall today, hitting a low of 16,270 yuan/mt during the session. Although prices edged up slightly toward the close, the rebound was limited, and the contract finally closed at 16,290 yuan/mt. A small bearish candlestick was recorded, down 125 yuan/mt, or 0.76%. Supply side, dragged down by low lead prices, suppliers of primary lead showed mediocre willingness to ship, while secondary lead producers held prices firm and were reluctant to sell due to cost pressure, leaving overall transactions sluggish. Demand side, downstream battery plants mainly purchased based on rigid demand under long-term contracts, while wait-and-see sentiment for spot orders remained strong. SMM expects SHFE lead prices to remain in the doldrums. Data Source Statement: Except for public information, all other data is processed and derived by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, and is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China exported 12,052.46 mt of copper enamelled wire in January 2026, down 1.19% YoY; exports were 10,239.85 mt in February, up 39.64% YoY; cumulative exports in January-February 2026 reached 22,292.31 mt, up 14.14% YoY on a cumulative basis. (HS code 85441100)

According to customs data, China’s exports of bismuth trioxide in January 2026 were 677.56 mt, versus 570.97 mt in December 2025, showing a clear MoM increase. Market participants said that, judging from the overall changes in exports, China’s bismuth oxide exports had trended upward in almost every month since September 2025, indicating that bismuth oxide enterprises still maintained strong export momentum and that demand outside China was also increasing significantly.

It was learned that the SMM weekly composite operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises in five provinces was 73.92% from March 13 to March 19, 2026, up 0.46 percentage points WoW from the previous week. Recently, production at lead-acid battery enterprises remained relatively stable. Apart from slight production adjustments at a small number of enterprises, changes in production at other enterprises were relatively small. Over the past two years, as AI development accelerated, battery demand from data centers improved. In particular, lead-acid battery enterprises that secured tender orders had full order books, with production lines operating at full capacity. In addition, for civilian battery products, end-use consumption in the e-bike and automotive battery markets showed mediocre performance. Considering that from April to May is the traditional consumption off-season, some enterprises with average order intake only maintained operating rates at 70-80%, and needed to adjust production based on subsequent order conditions.