China's tin imports up 59 percent

According to the latest data, China's tin imports rose sharply during the month of May this year. The country's tin import amounted to 645 thousand tons in May. Myanmar has become the main source of refined tin imports to China during the five months of this year.

Refined tin imports in May this year were down nearly 51 percent from the same month a year earlier. However, in May 2014, imports were up 59 percent compared to imports in the previous month, when imports of refined tin totaled 405 tons.

Tin concentrate imports totaled 13,461 tonnes in May, up 353 percent from the same month of the previous year. In addition, imports for the month were up 17 percent from the previous month. The main exporter of tin concentrates to China was Myanmar. Imports from Myanmar in May totaled 12,922 tons, accounting for nearly 96 percent of imports.

Total imports of refined tin across China in the first five months of this year were 2,880 tons, down 65 percent from the corresponding five months in 2013. Total imports of tin concentrate in the first five months of 2014 were up 63 percent in on an annualized basis up to 63,220 tons. Meanwhile, the export of tin bullion was up 53 percent from the previous year to 866 tons. Cumulative exports for the January-April period amounted to almost 3,000 tons.