China's Alumina Trade Surges in April 2026, Imports and Exports See Massive Year-on-Year Growth

India, though the world’s second-largest primary aluminum producer with an annual capacity exceeding 4.16 million mt, sees its roughly 3,500 downstream micro, small, and medium aluminum processing enterprises (MSMEs) trapped in a structural cost disadvantage caused by the import parity pricing mechanism for primary aluminum. This mechanism anchors domestic primary aluminum prices to an international benchmark plus tariffs, forcing downstream enterprises to pay import-equivalent prices even when purchasing locally produced metal. Yet these MSMEs support about 90% of employment in the aluminum value chain and supply critical materials to strategic sectors such as power transmission and transformation, renewable energy, railways, and EVs, while operating at margins of only about 5% and an operating rate of about 65%—a stark contrast to the nearly 98% operating rate and about 10% margins in the primary aluminum sector.

Adani Group and Abu Dhabi International Holding Company (IHC), each holding a 50% stake, have jointly established a joint venture and plan to build a large-scale integrated aluminum industrial park in Rayagada, Odisha, India, with a total investment of $11.5 billion. The industrial park will include an alumina refinery with an annual capacity of 4 million mt, aluminum smelting facilities with a capacity of 2 million mt, and an aluminum deep processing base with a capacity of 1 million mt. It will be implemented in two phases: Phase I with an investment of $6.9 billion and Phase II with $4.6 billion. The project will also include the construction of a 4,000 MW captive coal-fired power plant and a 400 MW renewable energy unit. The joint venture has signed a long-term bauxite supply agreement with Odisha Mining Corporation. Regulatory approvals are expected to take 12 to 18 months, after which Phase I is expected to come on stream within 3 to 3.5 years, and the entire project is expected to be completed and operational within 4 to 5 years. During construction, it is expected to provide 35,000 temporary jobs, and upon commissioning, it will create 18,500 permanent jobs.

[SMM Aluminum Flash] China's daily inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingot in major consumption areas was 7,590 mt today, down 30 mt from the previous trading day.