aluminium expo|Japan's primary aluminium imports fall 26% to 1.03 million tons in 2023

According to Japan's Ministry of Finance, citing Japan Aluminium Association (JAA) data, due to the slowdown in demand from the construction and manufacturing industries, Japan's primary aluminium imports in 2023 fell by 26% to 1.03 million tons, the lowest level of aluminium imports since 1986, even in 2020, when demand plummeted as a result of the ravages of COVID-19, Japan's aluminium imports also reached 1.17 million tons.

According to aluminium expo , 2023 Japan's imports of aluminium ingots from Russia decreased by 69%, while imports from Brazil and India increased by 26% and 19% respectively. Japan, Asia's leading importer of light metals, has set a benchmark for the region by agreeing to pay a quarterly premium for primary metals above the London Metal Exchange (LME) spot price CMAL0 benchmark. China's primary aluminium imports overtook Japan's to reach 1.54 million tons in 2023, double the 668,734 tons it imported in 2022, with strong demand and higher prices fueling more shipments to China, the world's largest consumer of the metal.

A source at a global producer said, "Single-year imports have fallen sharply, but Japan remains a stable major importer of the metal." It is too early to discuss whether to change the way buyers and producers set quarterly premiums for Asia. A source at a Japanese rolling mill said, "Import surpluses in 2022 and an extension of last year's inventory adjustments led to a sharp decline in primary ingot imports, but demand for value-added products such as aluminium for extrusion and aluminium for sheet and strip production remained relatively firm." Japan's aluminium sheet and extrusion shipments fell 6.5% year-on-year in 2023.