Russia plans to divert metal exports from Western countries to alternative markets

The Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, stated that due to sanctions put in place by the EU and US, Russia would reroute its metal exports from Western nations to alternate markets.

The minister identified China, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union members, and CIS countries as priority areas for diversifying metal supplies.

Manturov predicts that trade flows will concentrate on Latin American, African, and Middle Eastern markets.

Manturov said during a meeting with Mikhail Mishustin, the Russian Prime Minister, that "our firms, with the assistance of trade missions, are already reorienting exports, and that the government will take steps to support logistics.”

Russia being a significant metal producer and exporter, so according to the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the country had a 13 per cent market share for titanium production in 2021, 11.2 per cent for nickel, 10.5 per cent for platinum, 5.4 per cent for aluminium, 4 per cent for copper, and 4.4 per cent for cobalt.

Palladium is a rare metal used in the production of automobiles, and Russia is the world's top producer, making up about 37 per cent of total output in 2021.

In addition to being a significant producer of raw aluminium, Russia is also a vital component of the world supply networks that are essential for producing the metal.

Although Western sanctions have not directly targeted Russian metals and the companies that produce them, many buyers have evaded imports from the country.