Jamaica’s alumina export volume to see a YoY growth in 2018 along with a sweeping rise in revenue

The existence of aluminium ore in Jamaica was known by scientists from the beginning of the 19th Century and by 1957, the country became the leading bauxite producer in the world. The production of alumina also increased, especially after the mid-1960s. By 1968, Alcan had brought the capacity of its two refineries to more than 1 million tonnes a year. In 1969 a new plant was commis­sioned at Nain, St. Elizabeth, by Alpart, then a consortium of Kaiser, Reynolds and Anaconda, another U.S. company. By 1974 Jamaica achieved the second highest position in the world as an alumina exporter.

According to Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the country in 2017 produced 1.78 tonnes, out of which its estimated export volume stood at 1.63 million tonnes, found the global export-import data. In 2016, the alumina production in Jamaica was higher than in 2017 at 1.85 million tonnes but the export volume stood down at 1.52 million tonnes. However, this year, the export volume is expected to exceed the two previous years by 18 per cent from 2016 and 10 per cent from 2017, to stand at 1.80 million tonnes. This shows that Jamaica’s estimated alumina export is seeing a year-on-year growth for the past couple of years.

Consequently, Jamaica’s alumina export revenue is forecast to see a growth this year. In 2016, Jamaica’s estimated export revenue was around US$ 388 million while in 2017, it was at US$ 505 million. According to the global export-import data, this year the value is forecast to see a sweeping growth to around US$ 1357 million, up by 249 per cent from 2016 and 168 per cent from 2017.

The restart of alumina of alumina shipment from Jamaica's largest alumina refinery Alpart could be accounted for the growth in alumina export from Jamaica. In 2017, the company exported 35,000 tonnes of alumina. In the next three years, it is likely to spend around US$3 billion on upgrading the 1.65-million tonnes per annum plant.