China imported 2.1 million mt of copper ore and concentrate in April 2023, up 11.6% on the year and 4.1% on the month. YTD imports through April stood at 8.76 million mt, up 6.7% year-on-year. SMM predicts that China's copper ore and concentrate imports in May will fall to 2.076 million mt due to the reduction in raw materials demand from Chinese smelters undertaking maintenance.

SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) - SMM statistics showed that copper concentrate stocks across five major ports in China fell from 813,000 mt on March 3 to 665,000 mt on March 31, a drop of 18.2%.

85,300 mt of copper concentrate was imported from the US, up 192.47% or 56,100 mt month-on-month.

In January 2023, China imported 41,300 mt of copper concentrate from Panama, up 2.06% year-on-year and 2.29% month-on-month.