Horses for courses - at the end of the day, like any business it...

Horses for courses - at the end of the day, like any business it all comes down to cost viability.

Contrary to alumina imports increasing, many reports such as following do exist. "The Logic Behind China's Booming Bauxite Imports"
http://www.clarksons.net/markets/feature_display.asp?section=&news_id=26802&title=The+Logic+Behind+China's+Booming+Bauxite+Imports

..."China has expanded alumina capacity dramatically in recent years and plans further substantial growth over the next few years. Most of this growth was and will be possible through imports of bauxite from Indonesia, India and Australia. China will continue to be a major importer of bauxite for the foreseeable future."

..."Rio Tinto is currently the only company exporting Australian bauxite to China, and the Chinese are acutely aware of the risks of being solely reliant on your competitors for your raw material. This is potentially a far greater problem for China than the recent duopoly of Australian iron ore supply because it is actually a monopoly."

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Conversations/Bauxite-Billionaires-DH2FJ?OpenDocument

The following preso (slide 18) by BHP indicates a decrease in Chinese Alumina imports.
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRepository/docs/aluminiumSitePresentation08.pdf

What is the price of Alumina? Logic states it would be significantly more expensive than Bauxite. So, do the chinese prefer higher import costs of Alumina or cheaper costs of bauxite imports with higher costs of "in-house" refinery.

Horses for course, there is a market for both and the dymanics of these are changing by the month.