New Zealand’s aluminium sector is sounding the alarm over cheap imports from China, saying it risks putting local producers out of business.
According to the Aluminium Extruders Association (ALENZ), import volumes of finished aluminium products – that’s parts used for scaffolding, fences and boats – are already running 40% higher than last year.
And over the past 10 years, they’ve risen by more than 150%.
“These imports are state subsidised, mainly by China," an association spokesperson said.
"China built 7000 extrusion presses on cheap state loans, energy and land for a construction boom that has since halved."
The impact of the cheaper finished metal product was being acutely felt in Hamilton’s INEX factory.
"Hamilton is the second biggest city in the southern hemisphere outside Brisbane, which is number one for aluminium extrusion," chief executive John Lynch told 1News.
“The New Zealand market is currently around about 35,000 tonnes annually.”
But he said it was difficult to compete with imports coming in at such low prices.
“Even if we had no additional costs of manufacturing, it would still be difficult for us to compete in the market with underpriced metal.”
Lynch said he was worried about the long-term impact of the overall manufacturing sector, should the situation continue.
“Right now, we've got the worst unemployment statistics that we've seen for many year ... if we reduce manufacturing what are our young people going to do for work?”
There were similar concerns down the road at Extec – a family-owned company which makes the moulds used to create the finished aluminium products.
"We all need competition and there's nothing wrong with competition,” said Extec co-founder Gil Harte.
“But what we're all asking for is a level playing field. What we don't want is people selling a product that's below cost; that's what's happening to New Zealand."
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones wanted to know "what the hell is going on?”
“Given that I'm the regional minister, I'm appalled that jobs are under threat. That these firms that continue to developed value added product are being undermined by what I view as inferior products and it's not consistent with the threshold that ought to be observed in the various trade deals,” he tells 1News.
“The law clearly enables our Government and the officials, to stand up for Kiwi firms; and Kiwi employees. We're in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis; we want value added.
"But value added should not be undermined by a flow of product that is not consistent with what we should be demanding in terms of trade thresholds.”
The Extruders Association said other countries, such as Australia, the US, Canada, the UK and the EU all have anti-competitive important laws in place, to prevent cheap imports of products, like aluminium, flooding the market.
But according to BusinessDesk, China’s Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Association, together with Indonesian and Mexican interests, say New Zealand’s import volumes for the relevant tariff codes actually declined between 2022 and 2025.
They point to Stats NZ data over that period, referencing the public financial results of metal processor Vulcan to argue the domestic industry has not suffered serious injury.
This was, however, disputed by ALENZ.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is currently looking into the issue, through a safeguard investigation.
That's an official inquiry used to determine whether a sudden, sharp surge in imported goods are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.
Commerce Minister Cameron Brewer said the Government “has sympathy the issue.
“I've told MBIE to turn every stone over to do a full and thorough investigation. And they're giving me assurance that that is what they're doing."
The report is due to be completed on Thursday.
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