Iran to record 114% jump in imports of alumina in H1 2018

Iran is estimated to witness a jump in alumina imports in the first half of 2018. The country imported an estimated 221359 tonnes of alumina from the global market in 2017.

The country’s alumina imports from China climbed up significantly in March 2018.China, one of the major exporters of alumina to Iran, exported 157 tonnes of alumina in March, up 241 per cent year on year. The quantity of alumina imported from China totalled 424 tonnes in the first three months of 2018, an increase of 30 per cent in the same period previous year.

As per global import-export data, Iran is estimated to import 376334 tonnes of alumina in the half of 2018, up 114 per cent in the same period previous year. In H2 2018, the country is estimated to import 279992 tonnes of alumina, up from 45750 tonnes in the corresponding period previous year.

The cost of alumina import is estimated to stand at US$ 132 million in H1 2018, from US$ 25 million in H1 2017. In H2 2018, the value is estimated to stand at US$ 101 million, down from US$ 6 million in the corresponding period previous year.

According to recent estimates, in 2017, top alumina exporters were China (130922 tonnes), India (80195 tonnes), France (6985 tonnes) and Germany (1782 tonnes).