China increases imports of bauxite from Malaysia by 1103.7 percent in 1-3 quarters of 2014

China is finding an alternative to bauxite from Indonesia in response to the country's export ban earlier this year by increasing imports from Malaysia. China's bauxite imports from Malaysia hit a record 566,000 tonnes in September 2014, representing a monthly growth of 104 percent.

Chinese imports of bauxite from Malaysia during the first three quarters of 2014 jumped 1,103.7 percent to 1.27 million tons, China's customs data show.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has also negatively impacted bauxite supplies. The annual production of bauxite in Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone is 7.81 percent of the global, which is slightly lower than 10 percent in Indonesia. Chinese enterprises were forced to look for new suppliers of bauxite. They have significantly increased their purchases of ore from Malaysia as an alternative to supplies from Indonesia and West Africa. This high demand should continue for the foreseeable future.

Bauxite prices from Malaysia have declined as the number of Malaysian bauxite suppliers skyrockets. The FOB price for low grade bauxite in Malaysia is currently $ 35-37 per ton, versus $ 46-47 per ton of high grade ore.

Liu Xiolei, an aluminum analyst, believes the change of suppliers will have little impact on the Chinese aluminum industry, as Africa is not currently China's main import supplier of bauxite, and imports from the region are around 5 percent. "However, international bauxite exports from these countries could suffer if the Ebola outbreak drags on," he said. In addition, the construction of aluminum processing plants in African countries is also delayed for this reason.