2017 for the global zinc market ended with a deficit of 495 thousand tons

In 2017, global production of zinc ores recorded a moderate growth of 3.6% over the previous year. Zinc production in India increased significantly in 2017 by almost 34%. Growth in production in Peru more than offset the significant decline in production in Australia. In addition, supplies of zinc concentrates increased in Europe, Canada, Mexico and Turkey.

In 2017, the production of refined zinc metal remained virtually unchanged. Production for the year was 13.724 million tonnes, up from 13.739 million tonnes in 2016. The surge in production in India of 30.4% was more or less offset by declines in production in other areas such as Canada, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Peru.

Global demand for refined zinc rose marginally by 2.6% to 14.219 million tonnes in 2017, up from 13.861 million tonnes in 2016. The rise in demand was mainly driven by increased use of Australia, Brazil, China, Japan and Taiwan, with European demand down 0.5%. The United States recorded a modest 0.6% year-over-year growth.

China's imports of zinc contained in concentrates increased sharply by 26% compared to 2016. Import of zinc in zinc concentrate in the country amounted to 1,029 thousand tons. China's imports of refined zinc metal rose sharply by almost 64% to 661,000 tons during the year.

The International Lead and Zinc Research Group (ILZSG) shows a deficit of 495 thousand tonnes in the global refined zinc market throughout 2017.