India becomes the largest importer of aluminium scrap from Middle East

Nasser Aboura, chairman of U.A.E.-based Aboura Metals, said the nonferrous scrap sector in the Middle East and North Africa region has grown along with the oil and construction industries that have characterized the region in the past several decades. The region has exported considerable amounts of scrap to China, but Aboura said India is “the largest trading partner with the Middle East” and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

“Pre-2010, China was the largest importer of scrap metals from the Middle East,” said Aboura. India has subsequently assumed the No. 1 slot, with its annual imports of aluminium scrap far outweighing copper and lead scrap.

Mohan Agarwal of secondary aluminium producer Century Metal Recycling, Palwal, India, said he foresees Indian demand for aluminium scrap continuing, in part thanks to the seven facilities his company operates. Century’s seven smelting facilities produce up to 225,000 tonnes per year of secondary aluminium alloys. Two of the plants are joint ventures with Japanese firms (one with Nikkei, the other with Toyotsu).

Demand for aluminium alloys will grow along with India’s automotive sector, Agarwal said. India is currently the second-largest two-wheel motorized vehicle producer in the world and the seventh-largest automaker. India “is expected to become the world’s third-largest auto producer by 2020, with 7 million units annually.”

Since 2014 India has been exporting more small cars than Japan, Agarwal said, and it will continue producing such vehicles for its growing middle class. “More and more car manufacturers are looking at India,” he said, adding that they are locating assembly plants and research and development facilities in the nation. To grow along with the auto industry, “aluminium alloy production [in India] must grow threefold from 500,000 metric tons to 1.5 million metric tons” annually, Agarwal said.

Indian scrap metal importers, such as Century Metal Recycling, have been working closely with their overseas suppliers to adjust to a transition in the customs inspection process for containerized scrap shipments.