IN FIGURES: China’s battery raw materials exports in December 2020

A summary of China’s battery raw materials exports for December 2020.

In brief

  • Exports of cobalt tetroxide rose amid the continuous recovery of manufacturing activities and demand for batteries used in consumer electronics outside China.
  • Lithium carbonate exports decreased both on a monthly and yearly basis due to no improvement in overseas demand.
  • Lithium hydroxide exports increased on a monthly and annual basis driven by rallying demand from high-nickel ternary makers in Japan and South Korea.
  • China’s spherical graphite exports surged on an annual basis because of developments in anode material production in main consuming countries, with exports to South Korea at 4,591 tonnes, against 1,364 tonnes from a year earlier, up by 236.6%. Exports to Japan stood at 1,219 tonnes within the same period, up by 60.39% annually at 760 tonnes.

December exports

Cobalt metal
5 tonnes, down by 28.57% month on month, down by 97.45% year on year

Cobalt tetroxide
705 tonnes, up by 22.18% month on month, up by 100.85% year on year

Lithium carbonate
459 tonnes, down by 22.34% month on month, down by 54.51% year on year

Lithium hydroxide
7,392 tonnes, up by 40.37% month on month, up by 35.46% year on year

Natural graphite in flake
8,675 tonnes, up by 8.05% month on month, down by 28.19% year on year

Spherical graphite
5,947 tonnes, up by 21.99% month on month, up by 162.56% year on year

What to read next
Key talking points from the 75th anniversary event of European steel distributors’ association Eurometal, held July 2-3 in Luxembourg and attended by Fastmarkets.
Mexico’s production and consumption of long steel fell year-on-year in May due to weakness in the country's construction sector, but posted a month on month gain, according to the latest data from the Mexican steel chamber, CANACERO.
To increase the transparency of our methodology, Fastmarkets clarifies that the quotation period of the MHP nickel payable indicator is the month of delivery, or the month M. Any data points Fastmarkets received otherwise will be normalized to the M month based on the monthly spreads of the prevailing exchange-traded Class-1 nickel reference price, or […]
Despite the current headwinds, strategic partnerships and continued investment in the right areas, coupled with the underlying strong long-term demand fundamentals, will pave the way for success for lithium producers, according to the participants of the executive panel during the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference, which took place from June 23-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The US needs well-defined and stable policy around critical minerals, energy transition and trade, while derisking projects and maintaining good relations with other countries to be able to establish sustainable electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage systems (ESS) supply chains in North America, according to industry experts.
The US and Europe must adopt long-term, consistent policies and should learn lessons from China, according to lithium industry experts speaking at Fastmarkets’ Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas, US, over June 22-25.