Rusal is banned from buying, European and American aluminum plants are suspended, and Europe may import a large amount of Chinese aluminum!

China is a big country in the production and consumption of aluminum products, with aluminum production accounting for about 60% of the world's total output, and it has also become a major exporter of aluminum products. In August 2022, China exported 540,400 tons of unwrought aluminum and aluminum products, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%; the cumulative export from January to August was 4.701 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%.

On the other hand, the Russian aluminum industry is limited in alumina supply and sales, and the European and American aluminum industries have been shrinking in production capacity due to energy prices and other reasons.

Aluminum is an energy-intensive metal and a strategically important material that is used in critical fields such as medical, food packaging, automotive, aerospace, and critical industries such as electronics and power.

According to foreign media news analysis, Europe may turn to China for help and will import a large amount of Chinese aluminum to cope with the impact of shrinking aluminum production in its own country.

1. Global aluminum production has grown, and China’s aluminum production has contributed greatly

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's electrolytic aluminum production in August was 3.51 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%; from January to August, electrolytic aluminum production was 26.47 million tons, a cumulative increase of 2.1% year-on-year.

The International Aluminum Association (IAI) reported that global primary aluminum production in August increased by 3.49% year-on-year to 5.888 million tons.

In August, China's aluminum production accounted for 59.6% of the world's total, and the growth in global aluminum production was mainly contributed by China.

2. Rusal is banned from buying, and the aluminum industry is restricted

Rio Tinto executives have warned that the unrestricted flow of Rusal into the United States is undermining the competitiveness of North American producers, calling for a boycott of Rusal.

Russia is the world's second-largest metal producer, and Russia has traditionally supplied about 10 percent of total U.S. metal imports. U.S. trade data showed Russia was the third-largest aluminum exporter to the U.S. in August. Monthly imports from Russia rose nearly 60% last month from April levels, despite global buyers refusing to buy Russian metals due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is reportedly launching a discussion paper on whether and under what circumstances new supplies of Russian metals should be banned from its warehouse network. Any move to prevent Russia from supplying under the LME contract would hurt producers such as Rusal.

In recent months, Europe's big metals consumers have said they will steer clear of Russian metals when negotiating annual supply contracts for next year.

3. The production capacity of European and American aluminum plants has been stopped and the output has decreased

Europe has had to shut down or halt half of its primary aluminium production since energy prices began to rise in October 2021. According to the bank's statistics, the output in Europe (excluding Russia) in 2021 will be 3.7 million tons, accounting for 5.51% of the global output, while the built capacity in Europe (excluding Russia) is about 4.11 million tons, and the current production reduction is more than 30%, and further production reductions cannot be ruled out in the future. possible.

According to the statistics of Shanghai Iron and Steel Federation, from October 2021 to August 2022, the total production capacity reduction in Europe and the United States has reached about 1.3 million tons/year, of which about 1.04 million tons/year in Europe and 250,000 tons/year in the United States .

Faced with such an embarrassing situation, Europe had to turn to China for help and import a large amount of Chinese aluminum. The value of EU aluminium imports from China has almost doubled since last year, while imports from February to June rose by an average of 20.07% compared to the same period last year.#aluminum #aluminumfoil #aluminumsheet #aluminumcoil #aluminumalloy