Montenegro’s bauxite export growing by volume, but not by value

One country that has come a long way as bauxite exporter in last three years is Montenegro. The Balkan country grew its aluminium ore exports from 185969.5 tonnes in 2015 to 1.29 million tonnes in 2017 (estimated). Going by available international trade data, Montenegro is estimated to export 1.02 million tonnes of bauxite in 2018.

Montenegro’s major bauxite mining facility is Rudnici Boksita Niksic. It is located in the Central - Western part of the European country. The bauxite mine- the largest in Montenegro, has bauxite reserve estimated at 135.2 million tonnes. Bauxite production from the facility is expected to stand at 200,000 in 2017.

In 2016, Montenegro’s earnings from bauxite export reached US$28.7 million. In 2017, it was estimated at US$17.7 million. Macro and micro economic factors remain constant, total bauxite export revenue (value of export) is expected to decrease further to reach US$3.65 million in 2018. This disparity in volume and value of export can be attributed to currency exchange rates and global bauxite price trend since 2015.

Montenegro exports bauxite mainly to China, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Poland and Serbia. China is the largest bauxite market for the country. The top aluminium producing country from Asia imported 795,560 tonnes of bauxite from Montenegro in 2017, up 105.5 per cent from the previous year.