China's imports of copper and tin mines from Myanmar in the first two months have decreased due to turbulence

Customs data released on Saturday showed that in the first two months of 2021, China’s imports of copper metal and tin ore from Myanmar both fell by more than 25% year-on-year, which to a certain extent reflects the trade flows after this Southeast Asian country entered a state of emergency .

On February 1, the Myanmar military seized power on the grounds of fraud in the November elections. Myanmar is the third largest tin mining country in the world. The coup triggered widespread pro-democracy protests, including the Monywa Copper Mine Center.

Myanmar accounts for more than 95% of China's tin concentrate imports, and smelters are used to produce refined tin. However, the International Tin Association stated that supply and the coup are basically "isolated" and only about 20% may be affected.

According to Chinese customs data, the total import volume in January and February was 16,986 tons, a decrease of 26.5% over the same period of the previous year.

Due to the distortion of the Lunar New Year holiday, China's data for the first two months of this year is often viewed as a whole.

After the major devastation caused by the coronavirus outbreak a year ago, imports in February alone increased more than six-fold to 8241 tons, but still far below the level at the end of 2020.

China imported 8,350 tons of copper cathodes used in the manufacture of copper rods and tubes from Myanmar in January and February, a year-on-year decrease of 25.5%. Imports fell 55.4% in February to 4998 tons.

Wanbao Mining (Wanbao Mining) is the Chinese operator of two Monywa mines. Since the riots, the company has not publicly commented on its production status, but a person familiar with the matter said that copper can still be shipped to China. The copper flow will begin in summer.

The situation of rare earths is uneven. From January to February, the import volume of mixed rare earth carbonate was zero, but the import of rare earth oxides increased by 25.7% year-on-year to 3546 tons.

China is the world's largest producer of minerals used in consumer electronics and military equipment. About half of China's heavy rare earth materials depend on Myanmar.