India: Aluminium scrap imports drop 36% in Feb m-o-m

India imported around 2 lakh tonnes of aluminium scrap in Jan'22 but in the month of February, 2022 this volume decreased by 36% m-o-m to 1.27 lakh tonnes, as per SteelMint data.

Prices of aluminium scrap on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the month of January were higher compared to December which kept importers away from market.

In India, majority of aluminium scrap arrives from the US, the UK and the Middle East. In the month of February, US imports fell by 68% whereas imports from the Middle East improved by more than 15% due to lower lead time of shipments. The Zorba grade, which is majorly supplied from the US, decreased due to Covid and seasonal effect (winter season).

If we look into the grade-wise imports, there was a significant fall in Zorba due to limited supply from the US whereas Taint Tabor, Extrusion and Tense scrap remained stable.

Interest in imports of Trauma (wheel-grade scrap) was lower by around 11% as compared to January due to passive demand for aluminium alloys from the automobile sector.

India is import-dependent for aluminium scrap and around 85% of the total scrap demand is fulfilled from import sources only. Secondary aluminium alloys are manufactured through scrap usage which are mainly used in automobile applications.