Chinese imports of copper concentrate hit a record high in April, boosted by an expansion in domestic copper smelting capacity that is expected to come online later this year despite industry overcapacity.

Imports of copper concentrate reached 2.9 million metric tons in April, up 25% year on year and 22% compared to March, according to Chinese customs data released on Friday.

Copper smelting capacity in China has increased by a quarter since 2021 and is expected to increase by another 10% this year, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI), even as overseas mine closures keep supplies of concentrated, the key commodity, tight.

“The increase in concentrate imports is aimed at meeting the smelters' capacity expansion plan, as they need to prepare stocks before starting operations in the second half of this year,” said a copper trader.

Imports of copper concentrate since the beginning of the year have increased by 7.3% to 10 million tons.

In addition, Chinese imports of raw copper and copper products in April remained unchanged from the previous year, at 438,000 metric tons, as suppliers rushed shipments to the United States to avoid impending tariffs.

Raw copper data includes anodes, refined products, alloys, and semi-finished products. For the first four months of 2025, imports of crude copper fell by 3.9%, to 1.74 million tons, according to the data