Aluminium imports account for more than 40% of annual domestic consumption of four million tonnes. It includes both primary (ingots, billets and wire rods) and downstream aluminium products (tubes, wires and cables). Wires form a large portion of the total aluminium product import by India as 48% of aluminium consumption in India is in the electrical sector.
{newsStudioGallery}
{alcircleadd}In the year 2015, imports of aluminium wire by India stood at about 25,040 tons. The volume increased to 29,601 tons in 2016. Based on the trend of last two years, the aluminium wire import is forecasted to increase to about 36,275 tons for the first eleven months of 2017. The constant rise in import is driven by growing domestic aluminium consumption to manufacture value added aluminium products in the country to fulfil the growing domestic end-user demand.
The cost from import was US$ 60 million and US$ 64 million respectively for the years 2015 and 2016. For the first eleven months of 2017, the cost of import of aluminium wire by India is estimated to be about US$ 84 million. The rise in cost is in the line of the growth in import and reflects the value addition in aluminium products.
The top aluminium wire exporter to India is Malaysia that exports about 20,000 tons of aluminium wire to India per year accounting for 65% of the total aluminium wire import.
It is noteworthy that The Centre has been considering taking more measures to safeguard the interests of the domestic aluminium industry by restricting unfair import of aluminium and aluminium products. The Finance Ministry had, in the budget 2016-17 increased basic import duty on primary aluminium products from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent and on other aluminium products from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent. And now the Mines Ministry is under pressure to increase it further.
{googleAdsense}
The mines ministry has asked consultancy firm Mecon to suggest a new MIP range on the non-ferrous metal, updated on current global price trends.
Mecon had proposed MIP rate of USD 2,066 per tonne for primary aluminium products (which includes ingots, billets and wire rods) in November 2016. The firm had also recommended MIP price for secondary aluminium products such as tubes, wires and cables. While an MIP of USD 3,108 per tonne was proposed for aluminium tubes and pipes, USD 2,349 per tonne was recommended for wires.
The ministry is awaiting a fresh set of recommendations from Mecon on an MIP range for imported aluminium products. MIP serves as the floor rate below which overseas shipments of specified items are not allowed to enter Indian shores. The ministry will shortly take a decision on levying a minimum import price (MIP) based on the reports.
Responses
