Rusal expects aluminum consumption in Russia to more than double in 7 yrs
MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - UC Rusal expects aluminum consumption in Russia to more than double over the next seven years, from an anticipated 900,000 tonnes in 2012, the aluminum giant's top managers said during the Metal Bulletin aluminum conference.
"Aluminum consumption could more than double in the next seven years," CEO Oleg Deripaska said.
Consumption in Russia and the CIS could come to 900,000 tonnes in 2012.
"We expect consumption [in Russia and the CIS] to top 1 million tonnes in the next 18 months," said Sergei Belsky, Rusal's director for sales in Russia and the CIS.
The automobile industry, which will grow by up to 8%, will be the main consumption growth driver in the next seven or eight years, Belsky said.
He said the Russia and CIS markets were the most lucrative because 75% of the supplies there were value-added products.
Rusal aims to boost sales of cast-house alloys, used mainly by the automobile industry, 6% this year in Russia and the CIS. "That's the highest growth for any Rusal product," Belsky said.
The cable industry is where the second biggest growth will be as Russia modernizes its power grid infrastructure, aided, Rusal expects, by government funding. Sales of wire-rod in Russia and the CIS should rise 3% in 2012.
Rusal has also started to develop a new aluminum-zirconium alloy, which has been tested and could go on sale soon. Its Irkutsk smelter is launching production of aluminum alloyed with rare-earth and transition metals, which could be used instead of copper in the cable industry.
At present, Rusal has more than 600 customers in Russia and the CIS, 36% of them from the fabrication industry, 30% from the cable industry, 13% from the extrusion industry, 9% the automobile and 7% ferrous metallurgy, Belsky said.
Rusal sold just under 800,000 tonnes of metal in Russia in 2011.
