Rusal allocates sales volumes for 2023, Asia's share of revenue grows to 33% in H1
MOSCOW. Oct 11 (Interfax) - Rusal has allocated its sales volumes for 2023 and is now selecting the most lucrative sales portfolio for next year, a spokesman for the Russian aluminum giant said.
Reuters reported on this earlier, citing the company.
Rusal has ramped up sales in China and other Asian countries and their share of the company's revenue grew to 33% by the middle of 2023 from 23% in 2022. Rusal's revenue in China almost doubled to $1.1 billion and the company became the world's largest aluminum exporter to the country.
Rusal is maintaining a stable position on global export markets, despite unprecedented pressure and an unfavourable market situation, the company said. Rusal lost access to premium markets this year, which it attributes to the actions of "unfriendly" countries.
"So, in March of this year the United States imposed record prohibitive import duties of 200% on aluminum from Russia and its derivatives. Competitors are putting serious pressure on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in order to exclude trading of Russian aluminum and improve their financial position thanks to the subsequent spike in prices and marine shipments are complicated by sanctions measures against Russia," the company spokesman said.
One of the largest aluminum consumers, Novelis, which is owned by India's Hindalco Industries Ltd., confirmed its refusal to use metal from Russia to supply its plants in Europe, Reuters reported. Novelis first announced its refusal in September 2022, commenting on the opening of a tender for aluminum supplies for 2023. Novelis is still buying some aluminum from Rusal under contracts signed before the beginning of 2022, but has avoided new transactions since then. And there will not be any in the tender for supplies for 2024, executive vice president and Novelis Europe president Emilio Braghi said.
Stocks of aluminum of Russian origin at LME warehouses grew to 81% of the total by the end of August from 41% in January. The growth of these inventories was noted at the end of 2022 by Alcoa and other market players who lobbied to exclude Russian aluminum from the exchange's listing. They argued that the growth of Russian aluminum inventories jeopardized appropriate setting of prices in conditions where consumers refused to buy this metal. But the LME decided not to restrict aluminum supplies from Russia.
Export markets are of "colossal importance for the stability of the Russian aluminum industry, since they secure tens of thousands of jobs in the country," Rusal said. Rusal's smelters in Russia currently have capacity to produce over 4.3 million tonnes of aluminum, while aluminum sales on the domestic market total about 1 million tonnes. Although this is 37% more than in 2013, the potential for aluminum processing in Russia remains largely unrealized, Rusal said.
