India ministry of mines data reveals aluminium demand-supply gap

Aluminium consumption in India was estimated at 15.49 million tonnes (mt) during the second quarter of the current financial year. Total production volume, on the other side, stood at 14.47 mt in the same period previous year. Clearly, there is a demand-supply gap that remains to be bridged through imports. Following graph shows the existing aluminium production capacity of the country:


India's total consumption of aluminium during third quarter of the current financial year is estimated at 15.20 mt against the expected aluminium production volume of 15.01 mt for the same period, revealed India ministry of mines data. The actual and targeted production volumes of the country's top aluminium producers for September 2016, are as follows:

India's aluminium consumption is rising steadily and is estimated to reach eight million tonnes per annum over the next ten years driven by growth in automobile, electricity, building & construction and packaging sectors. The aluminium that is produced here has to meet the costs and environment challenges. India's primary producers though faced by competition from the international players in China and Middle East are placed at a moderately advantageous position. Indian bauxite is of premium quality and primary producers have been given its mining rights at almost throwaway prices. With this and with the help of their own captive power plants, they remain one of the cost-competitive producers of aluminium in the world. Nevertheless, there's no denying fact that there are other industry challenges, which they need to overcome with enhanced R&D focus.

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India importing nearly half of its three million tonne aluminium consumption from China despite having adequate domestic capacity, is as counter-intuitive as Saudi Arabia importing oil. So, in the wake of government deciding on whether or not to impose minimum import price on aluminium, primary aluminium producers should see to it how faster and efficiently they can reach their full capacities by banking on a workable R&D blueprint and global marketing strategy.