China, Brazil, India to drive aluminium demand

CHENNAI HYDERABAD, Dec 10 (Business Standard): With China, Brazil and India becoming the growth centres for aluminium-based products, the demand for primary aluminium is set to reach 75 million tonne by 2020, according the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), a UK-based global forum of aluminium producers. In 2010, the production of primary aluminium reached 40 million tonne. In addition to this, 10 million tonne of the metal came from recycling industrial scrap material and another 10 million tonne was produced by recycling aluminium. The production of primary aluminium has doubled in the last two decades, according to a statement issued here by the organisers of the ongoing International Conference on Aluminium. "The current supply of aluminium is 60 million tonne of which 20 million tonne is from recycling. However, these 20 million tonne will remain stagnant and reduce over the years There is a strong demand for primary aluminium from China, Brazil and India as construction, electrification and manufacturing sectors are growing at a healthy rate," said Chris Bayliss, director of global projects, IAI. China continues to remain the top aluminium producer and consumer in the world. The demand for aluminium reached the highest in India last year with an 11 per cent growth rate, as per person consumption here is among the lowest in the world.