Research Report on China's Lithium Carbonate Import 2023-2032
Currently, lithium carbonate is mainly used in the production of low and medium nickel cathode materials (NCM 111, 523 and some 622) in LiFePO4 and ternary materials. With the development of China's new energy vehicle industry, the demand for lithium carbonate in the Chinese market continues to rise. Due to the limited local lithium resources in China, the import of lithium carbonate into China has been rising rapidly in recent years.
In 2021, China imported 81,000 tons of lithium carbonate, up 61.7% year-on-year, with imports of US$560 million, up 115.4%. In the first three quarters of 2022, China imported 105000 tons of lithium carbonate, up 76.5% year-on-year, with imports of US$5.05 billion, up 1404.3%.
CRI analysis shows that from 2018 to 2022, the average price of lithium carbonate imports into China generally shows a decreasing trend before increasing. from 2018 to 2020, the average price of lithium carbonate imports into China falls continuously, from US$14.8 per kg in 2018 to US$5.2 per kg in 2020. In 2021, CRI analysis shows that the average price of lithium carbonate imports into China is US$6.9 per kg, an increase of 33.2% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of 2022, the average price of China's lithium carbonate imports surged to $48.3 per kg, up 752.3% year-on-year.
In 2021, China imports lithium carbonate from 13 countries and regions. CRI analysis, by import volume, China's main sources of lithium carbonate imports are Chile, Argentina and South Korea. Among them, Chile is China's main source of lithium carbonate imports. In 2021, China imports 64,000 tons of lithium carbonate from Chile, accounting for 78.7% of total imports, and imports of US$390 million, accounting for 69.4% of total imports.
China is a large consumer of lithium carbonate, and the rapid development of new energy and other downstream industries has vigorously boosted the demand for lithium carbonate, but China's domestic supply of lithium carbonate is insufficient, and it needs to rely on imports to meet domestic production needs. CRI expects that China's lithium carbonate imports are expected to continue to grow from 2023-2032.
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