According to Nantong Inspection Bureau, a total of 200,040 tons of copper ore concentrates came through the port of Nantong in April, a record volume for a single month. The April imports, worth US$171m, accounted for 41.3 per cent of the total in the first four months of the year. The copper ore concentrates was sourced from Chile, Peru and Australia.

In February, the central government reinstated its policy to exempt import duty on copper ore concentrates. This boosted importers’ demand for the commodity and led to the surge in April imports. Demand for copper declined sharply last year due to the worldwide economic downturn and refineries cut back on imports of copper ore concentrates, which subsequently led to low stock levels. Now, with some companies in danger of running out of stock, Nantong expects a further rise in imports of copper ore concentrates in coming months.

The inspectors are also warning of cargo shortfalls. According to official statistics, between January and April, inspectors found that five loads out of 36 of copper ore concentrates had a total shortfall of 578.4 tons, worth a compensation figure of nearly Rmb4m. In January, the vessel Thia Matina from Peru had a shortfall of 165.34 tons, or 1.5 per cent of the load claimed on the official documentation. Inspectors believe that the shortage of that vessel alone amount to Rmb1.31m in compensation.