UPDATE 1-China's Aug nickel ore imports from Indonesia surge 26.5% ahead of ban

* China's Aug nickel ore imports from Indonesia at 1.61 mln
T
* Total nickel ore imports at 5.72 mln T, highest since Sept
2018
* Indonesia will ban exports of nickel ore from Jan 2020
* Buyers trying to get as much Indonesian ore as they can-
analyst
* Shipments from Philippines hit 10-month high of 3.99 mln T

(Adds analyst comment, milestones, inventory data)
By Tom Daly
BEIJING, Sept 25 (Reuters) - China's nickel ore imports from
Indonesia rose 26.5% year-on-year in August, customs data showed
on Wednesday, as stainless steel producers stocked up on raw
materials ahead of a ban on exports from the Southeast Asian
country.
Following weeks of speculation, top nickel miner Indonesia
confirmed on Sept. 2 it would ban nickel ore exports from Jan. 1
next year as it seeks to process more of its resources at home.
That sent benchmark London nickel prices CMNI3 to their
highest in almost five years.
China, the world's biggest stainless steel producer and the
top importer of nickel ore, imported 5.72 million tonnes of
nickel ores and concentrates in total last month, up 5.5% from
July.
That was the highest monthly number since September 2018 but
was 7.5% lower year-on-year, data from China's General
Administration of Customs showed.
Imports from Indonesia stood at 1.61 million tonnes, down
8.4% from the previous month but up sharply from 1.27 million
tonnes a year earlier.
"Everyone is trying to ship Indonesian ore as much as they
can before the end of the year," said Linda Zhang, a nickel
analyst at Wood Mackenzie. "But there will be constraints in
terms of mining rate, ship availability and port capacity in
Indonesia, so they have to look for other alternatives,"
Shipments from the Philippines, China's biggest supplier of
nickel ore and its most obvious source of alternative supply,
came in at 3.99 million tonnes last month, up 13.2% from July.
That was the highest monthly total since October but was down
16.8% from August 2018.
Experts say, however, that even though Philippine nickel
miners are likely to boost production next year, they cannot
match the higher grade of Indonesian ore and will be unable to
completely fill the supply void. Zhang said the month-on-month increase in shipments from the
Philippines was a seasonal trend ahead of the monsoon season
starting in October. "In the meantime, Philippine miners are
also encouraged by the surging ore price thanks to the
Indonesian ore ban," she added.
Chinese buyers "definitely need to stockpile, not only from
Indonesia but also from anywhere else," Zhang said.
Nickel ore inventories at major Chinese ports stood at 12.4
million tonnes as of Sept. 20, according to research house
Antaike, down 482,500 tonnes from the previous week.