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• China imported 424,900 tonnes of zinc concentrate in August 2026, down 0.15% month-on-month and 9.06% year-on-year.
• Australia, Peru and South Africa were the top three suppliers in August; Peru and South Africa posted the largest month-on-month gains.
• Import losses on zinc concentrate exceeded RMB 2,500/tonne in August, pushing smelters toward cheaper domestic ore.
• Import losses have since narrowed to around RMB 1,500/tonne as overseas market pressure eased.
• Smelters are expected to become more active importers in September as winter stockpiling begins.

China's zinc concentrate import market is showing early signs of a turn, after a sluggish August in which smelters leaned heavily on cheaper domestic ore. Customs data show the country brought in 424,900 tonnes of zinc concentrate in August, essentially flat from July and down about 9% from a year earlier. Cumulative imports for the first eight months of the year reached 3.61 million tonnes, still up 3% on an annual basis.

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Australia, Peru and South Africa remained China's three largest suppliers in August, together accounting for roughly half of total volume. Peru and South Africa both posted notable month-on-month increases in shipments, while Russia and Australia saw some pullback.

The soft August performance traces to two factors. First, a squeeze in LME zinc inventories during the month widened the cost penalty on imported concentrate, at one point pushing losses above RMB 2,500 per metal tonne compared with domestic material. That made domestic ore the clear economic choice for Chinese smelters and kept spot import purchases limited. Second, August fell within the domestic smelting sector's regular maintenance season, which capped overall demand for concentrate even as refined zinc output ticked up slightly.

Looking to September, the picture is turning more favorable for imports. Losses on imported concentrate have narrowed to around RMB 1,500 per metal tonne as pressure in overseas zinc markets has eased, reducing the cost advantage that domestic ore held in August. At the same time, smelters are entering their winter stockpiling window and are expected to become more active buyers of imported material to build inventory ahead of the colder months.

For buyers and traders exposed to the zinc concentrate market, the shift matters on two fronts. A narrowing import-loss gap suggests Chinese smelters' appetite for seaborne concentrate should firm up through the rest of the quarter, which could tighten availability for other buyers competing for the same cargoes. At the same time, the pattern underscores how sensitive Chinese buying behavior is to the domestic-import price spread, meaning any renewed widening of that gap could just as quickly pull demand back toward domestic sources.

The report did not provide a specific volume forecast for September imports, describing only "room for recovery" in flows, but flagged winter restocking as the key driver to watch over the coming weeks.