Imports of material for zinc may climbChina, the world's biggest producer and user of zinc, may boost imports of the zinc concentrate raw material by 24 percent this year as domestic production of the refined metal rises.
China may import 200,000 metric tons more zinc concentrate this year as the country's output of zinc will rise 16 percent to 3.7 million tons, Feng Juncong, chief zinc analyst at Beijing Antaike Information Development Co, said at a seminar in Shanghai yesterday. China imported 837,000 tons of the concentrate in 2006, according to customs data.
China turned a net exporter of refined zinc, used to galvanize steel, in 2006 for the first time in three years, reducing global supply concern that pushed prices to records. Zinc for three-month delivery, which has fallen 19 percent from a record high of US$4,580 a ton on November 10, traded at US$3,465 a ton at 4:03pm in Shanghai yesterday, Bloomberg News said.
"The growth in China's zinc production had been fairly slow in the past years, but is expected to pick up this year on improved availability of the raw material," said Feng at the seminar.
China will be a net exporter of refined zinc and alloys this year, exporting 50,000 tons more than it imports, Feng said. Exports of the refined metal may slow as China may remove tax rebates on the exports within the first half of the year, he said.
China exported 7,000 tons more refined zinc, excluding alloys, than it imported last year.