Saudi Arabia alumina exports drop YoY on growing domestic consumption; India remains key importer

Saudi Arabian aluminium industry is growing immensely in last few years after the country decided to venture into a parallel non-oil economy.  A joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and Alcoa Ma’aden Aluminium (MA), Ma’aden Aluminium is a significant contributor to the growth of the Saudi Arabian economy. The company is inching towards becoming the largest and most efficient integrated aluminium complex in the world.

Ma’aden has the only operating alumina refinery in the Gulf region and it imports the large part of its bauxite from various bauxite producing regions, while exporting the alumina to India and UAE.

As shown by our data, Saudi Arabia exported about 984 tonnes of alumina in 2016 and earned revenues of US$ 149,004. In 2017, the export volume dropped slightly to 878 tonnes due to increased domestic consumption. India contributed the maximum of import while UAE imported a smal share in 2016. However, in 2017, India took over as the largest alumina importer, mostly due to the demand coming from the expanded aluminium capacities by the aluminium producers.

Considering the data for the last two years, for 2018 whole year, Saudi Arabia is estimated to export 662 tonnes of alumina. India is estimated to import the largest chunk of it. UAE shifted to India, Brazil and Jamaica for their alumina needs and exected to import a small amount from Saudi Arabia.