Reports from China suggest that the central government is considering a further increase in the export duty on electrolytic manganese metal from China although the matter has been carried over to August or later. The move is to prevent environmental pollution and to save energy consumption.
Domestic demand for Electrolytic manganese metal comes mainly from the stainless steel and aluminium alloy industries and is estimated to be 300,000 tons per annum but, as the capacity in China is thought to be 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 tonnes per annum there is an overcapacity. Therefore, China has to export a large quantity of the metal and China exported 320,000 tonnes of electrolytic manganese metal in the calendar year of 2007.
The imposition of the higher export duty will be a substantial blow to Chinese producers. Increases in the cost of electric power in China and in the world price of manganese ore have meant that the cost to produce electrolytic manganese metal in China has increased to over USD 3,750 per tonne FOB.
Source: Steel Prices
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