
According to data from Ministry of Mines, aluminium exports from India have recorded a sharp rise of 34.02 per cent YoY during April-January, 2017-18. The sharp rise was caused by growing domestic production and sluggish domestic demand growth.
Our data shows India exported and estimated 1.20 million tonnes of aluminium in CY 2017. The total aluminium export is expected to rise further in 2018 to 1.27 million tonnes. However, data from the Ministry confirms exports of aluminium rose from 0.97 million tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes during the period.
{alcircleadd}It is to be noted that primary aluminium production from April-February in the FY 2017-18 expanded 5.8 per cent YoY from 1.58 million tonnes to 1.67 million tonnes. For the Calendar year 2017, aluminium production stood at 2.8 million tonnes. According to an industry source, sluggish domestic demand led to the rise in export of surplus aluminium during that period. Additionally rise in aluminium price in the international market has made exports lucrative and profitable.
The US government's recent decision to levy a 10 per cent import tariff on aluminium would not be affecting India’s export to a significant extent as India exports a minimum amount of aluminium to the U.S. The above graph shows India’s estimated total export in 2017 and 2018 side by side with the amount exported to the U.S.
The major part of U.S. aluminium import comes from Canada, China and West Asian countries. India’s export share is about 2 per cent. On the contrary, Canada, China and West Asian countries account for an overwhelming 73 per cent of the aluminium imported by the US. Nalco, the top aluminium exporter from India is protected from the US-imposed tariff because it exports mostly to South-East Asia. Domestic players in 2016-17 exported barely 125,000 tonnes of aluminium, mostly ingots, to the US.

India’s aluminium exports to the US are valued at $350 million. This means Indian producers have only a 0.8 per cent share in aluminium exports to the US of the order of $42.2 billion.
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