INDIA - RUSSIA TRADE - ECONOMY
News: Alumina
exports to Russia surge as others avoid sale to Moscow
What's in the news?
● India’s exports of
aluminium oxide, or alumina, to Russia jumped to 2.58 lakh tonnes
in April-February of financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from nil in the
corresponding period of FY22.
Key takeaways:
● Russia major consumer of
alumina: As a major producer of aluminium, which
is used in a wide array of industries, Russia is a major alumina consumer.
Why the surge in exports?
● Following the invasion of
Ukraine, Russia was cut off from major supply sources like Australia and
Ukraine after both countries decided not to supply alumina to Moscow.
● In
fact, Australia, while banning alumina and bauxite exports to Russia said it
was doing so as these were “key components in the manufacture and development
of weapons”.
● The
rapid rise in the commodity’s supply to Russia has made it the third-biggest
buyer of Indian alumina by volume as well as value, replacing China.
Alumina exports from India:
● In
fact, alumina was the top commodity exported to Russia from India by volume.
● Alumina
exports to Russia in April-February were worth $89.87 million, and in value
terms, the commodity stood third among all items exported from India to Russia,
the trade data shows.
● By
volume, India’s alumina exports to Russia accounted for 14.4 percent of total
exports of the commodity, while by value, their share was 12.7 percent.
● Top alumina import
countries from India are as follows.
○ United
Arab Emirates
○ Oman
○ Russia
Alumina import by India:
● India continues to be a
net importer of alumina. In April-February,
India imported a total of 2.20 million tonnes worth $1.03 billion, with Indonesia, Vietnam, and Australia as the
top three suppliers.
● India’s
alumina imports for the period declined 5.8 per cent year on year by volume,
but rose 2.4 per cent in value terms.
Go back to basics:
Alumina:
● Alumina,
also commonly known as aluminium oxide,
is a chemical compound primarily composed of oxygen and aluminium molecules.
● It
is a colourless crystalline substance
that is found naturally in a variety of forms, namely sapphire and ruby, which
are usually formed from corundum.
● Alumina
is also extracted from ores, such as bauxite, which is found in topsoil in
certain tropical and subtropical regions. Extraction and refining of alumina
are done using the Bayer process.
● Alumina
is mainly used in the production of aluminium metal, but is also used as an
abrasive due to its hardness and as a refractory material due to its high
melting point.
Aluminium:
● Economic importance of
Aluminium: From an economic point of view, the
third-most-important base metal is Aluminium (with an annual $90 billion
industry). First being Iron-ore, followed by Copper.
● Reserves:
India is placed at 7th position in the
world in terms of bauxite reserve base. Bauxite is the basic raw material
for aluminium production.
● The
largest producer is China, followed
by Russia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.
● In
2018, a report by V.K Saraswat (NITI Aayog member) has recommended that the
government should consider classifying the aluminium sector as India’s ninth
core industry.
● Odisha
is the largest producer of bauxite, a key ore of aluminium in India.