Moscow, December 1. The stimulation of the growth of aluminium consumption in the Russian market should take place in three main areas at the same time: fulfilment of export potential, import substitution and growth of domestic demand for aluminium products. This was the key message of the industry conference 'Russian aluminium Industry. Realities and challenges', organised by the Aluminium Association. The conference was attended by the representatives of more than 60 leading companies of construction, shipbuilding, power, engineering, automotive, cable, aviation, rocket and space and many other industries of Russia.
As it was noted during the work, to achieve average global indicators of consumption the aluminium production in the domestic market should increase at least twice. Over the past 3 years, the volume of export of aluminium products from Russia has increased by an average of 5% per year. In 2016 the volume of export of aluminium semi-finished products to the far abroad countries was of about 183 thousand tonnes. The increase in the export supply of semi-finished products in 2016 was a significant factor in the growth of the domestic market.
The trend of export growth continues in the current year – the annual growth is of 9%. The participants of the meeting noted that the export of Russian aluminium products has a huge potential for growth and by 2021 the total volume of exports can increase to 600 thousand tonnes.
As for import substitution, it should be noted that today the segments of flat-rolled products with coating, foil, cast products, heaters and automobile discs account for more than 70% of imports. And it is in these segments that it is necessary to develop own production capacities and competencies first of all.
Further development of the industry will also be significantly dependent on the implementation of projects in the domestic market, related, first of all, with new products in the area of transport, construction, energy, packaging materials and goods of mass consumption.
The participants of the meeting were presented the results of the work and strategic plans for the development of the Aluminium Association, aimed primarily at solving the priority tasks of the industry. Along with this new projects were presented that were implemented by members of the Association in the oil and gas industry, shipbuilding, construction (bridge construction, translucent structures, greenhouse complexes, sandwich panels, granaries and metal tiles), railcar building (hoppers, tankers, electric trains, subway, trams), aviation (aviation containers, armchairs, wheels, wires), as well as a number of other projects.
'We are not just listing these projects – we invite you to take the most active part in their implementation. We need your knowledge, skills, experience and opportunities. Only together we can solve the important problems of the development of the aluminium industry, which will result in more than 20 thousand new jobs, doubling of tax revenues from the industry, as well as additional GDP growth by 1 per cent,' ‑ the chairman of the Aluminium Association, Valentin Trischenko, addressed conference participants.