Ireland’s total bauxite imports to rise by 3% YoY in 2019; Imports from Guinea to increase by 5%

Rusal-owned Aughinish alumina refinery, which started with 800,000 tonnes per year capacity and now produces 1.9 million tonnes, alone makes Ireland a significant hub for alumina production. Said so, Ireland is the main alumina refining hub in entire Europe and therefore, a major bauxite importer after China, USA, and Ukraine. Since 2006, the country has been featuring as one of the world's top five bauxite importing countries, with the estimated import volume of 4.81 million tonnes in 2017 and 4.61 million tonnes in 2018, according to the international trade data. This represents that the import volume in 2018 was down by 4.15 per cent year on year. However, in 2019, the bauxite import by Ireland is expected to stand higher than the preceding year by about 3.03 per cent to 4.75 million tonnes.

According to the data, Guinea is likely to continue to top the list of bauxite exporters to Ireland this year, by providing 3.29 million tonnes, up by 5.1 per cent from 3.13 million tonnes in 2018. In tandem with the YoY drop in Ireland’s total bauxite imports in 2018, the country’s imports from Guinea dwindled by 2.37 per cent from 3.37 million tonnes from the previous year.

The country in 2019 is expected to see a year-on-year increase in bauxite import cost as well, found the trade data. From US$188 million in 2018, the cost this year is likely to rise by 5.3 per cent to US$198 million. In 2018 as well, Ireland had seen a growth in bauxite import cost from US$182 million in 2017, despite a fall in the import volume.

Also, the import cost from Guinea is estimated to rise from US$105 million in 2018 to US$113 million 2019. In 2017, the import was valued at US$115 million, higher by 9.5 percent than the cost in 2018. This indicates that although the total bauxite importing cost of Ireland rose year on year in 2018, the country’s cost from Guinea stood down.