There was also a 6% fall in refined tin imports.
China’s total refined tin imports in 2013 were 13,141t, according to China Customs data, the lowest since 2009, when trade was hit by the global financial crisis. The fall was due to high tin stocks in the domestic market and weak demand, resulting in narrow import profit margins.
China exported 3,450t refined tin in 2013, almost double the previous year and boosted by the Indonesian supply bottleneck from September to November. However the official figures under-state actual exports, which might have been more than 5,000t, based on available import statistics of third countries.