Middle East alumina import estimated to rise 1.4% annually in 2018

An optimistic forecast of import based on global trade data suggests that Middle East will import 1.4 per cent more alumina in 2018 than last year. The key Middle East countries which have been taken into consideration are- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt and Iran. These are the countries having primary aluminium smelting operations.

Barring Iran and Saudi Arabia no other country has its own alumina refining unit.

UAE and Qatar top the list of alumina importing countries in the Gulf region. But while Qatar’s alumina import is estimated to rise form 1.14 million tonne in 2017 to 1.35 million tonne in 2018, UAE’s alumina import is estimated to drop from 1.11 million tonne to 836203.6 tonnes this year.

However, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest aluminium conglomerate in the Middle East has recently signed a long-term port facility agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports to import bauxite for its under-construction Al Taweelah alumina refinery. On completion, the alumina refinery is expected to increase domestic production of alumina to a significant extent.

In Saudi Arabia, the Ras Al Khair alumina refinery, which started production in 2014, is slated to reach 1.8 MT per annum by 2017 (latest data unavailable). It is expected to meet Ma'aden's domestic requirement of 1.4 million tonnes of alumina adequately.

Over the long-term, Middle East’s import dependence for alumina is slated to decline. In the short term, total alumina import by the region is estimated to rise from 2.921 million tonnes in 2017 to 2.962 million tonnes by the end of 2018.