According to the latest customs data cited by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), China imported 419,000 wet metric tons of zinc concentrate in September 2026. This was down 17.08% year on year and 1.39% month on month. Cumulative imports from January to September reached 4.0312 million mt, up 0.58% year on year.
By country of origin, Australia was the largest supplier in September, with 89,200 mt, or 21.3% of total imports. Peru ranked second with 55,600 mt (13.3%), followed by South Africa with 40,700 mt (9.7%). On a month-on-month basis, shipments from Peru and South Africa declined significantly, while shipments from Bolivia, Australia and Russia increased to varying degrees.
The source does not provide volume figures for the month-on-month changes from Bolivia and Russia. SMM describes China's zinc concentrate imports as broadly stable month on month in September. The source attributes this stability to two factors, according to SMM's assessment.
First, SMM says persistent pressure on smelter margins, driven by falling sulfuric acid prices and low treatment charges, continued to squeeze domestic smelter margins. SMM also notes that China's refined zinc output edged down month on month in September, while overall demand for zinc concentrate remained broadly unchanged. Second, SMM says the import arbitrage window for zinc concentrate remained closed throughout September.
As a result, smelters continued to prioritize domestic concentrate, and spot imports remained limited. For October, SMM expects China's zinc concentrate imports to remain range-bound. SMM anticipates that refined zinc output will remain broadly unchanged from September, which it says should keep underlying demand for zinc concentrate firm and support the arrival of previously contracted imported material.
SMM also notes that the domestic-to-overseas zinc price ratio has narrowed significantly compared with September, but that the import window remains closed. In SMM's view, this is expected to continue limiting spot import volumes. The information is based on market collection and comprehensive evaluation by the SMM research team.
It is provided for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), news.metal.com, citing China customs data.
Source: news.metal.com