RUSAL exec says Russian aluminum market may fall by 30% in 2020

MOSCOW, Apr 24 (PRIME) -- The Russian aluminum market may contract by more than 30% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Roman Andryushin, director of aluminum giant UC RUSAL for sales and marketing, told PRIME on Friday.

The degree of the pandemic’s impact will largely depend on the length of restrictions. While some European countries have started lifting the restrictions, it is too early to speak about stabilization of the situation in Russia and about the date of restrictions lifting, he said.

“At the same time, the situation in Russia is exacerbated by the fall of the purchasing power due to devaluation of the national currency, which hurts demand as well. So, the decline in demand on the domestic market may stand at more than 30% this year if the government does not introduce large-scale support of the aluminum industry,” he said.

“The second quarter will obviously be most difficult, and some producers of aluminum products – our consumers – talk about risks of losing up to 30–40% of production in April–May.”

The Russian aluminum market stands at 1.8 million tonnes, he said, adding that RUSAL’s  share of the Russian market stands at 26%.

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