Middle East aluminium scrap market ‘at nascent stage’

Middle East – The aluminium scrap market in the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) region will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% between 2010 and 2017. And the volume of aluminium scrap originating from the Middle East is set to reach 500 000 tonnes by next year, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.

Of the total volume, some 360 000 tonnes will be exported to India, South Korea, Pakistan, China, Europe and North America, among other markets.  ′The Middle East – the GCC in particular – is one of the fastest growing aluminium markets in the world,′ points out Venkatesan Subramanian, vice president and global leader of Metals & Minerals Practice at Frost & Sullivan.

The Middle East has a nominal 20% aluminium recycling rate, which includes smelter remelting, scrap generation and secondary remelting. Having been a predominantly export-driven region, the aluminium scrap market is ′at a nascent stage′ in the Middle East and its downstream industry has yet to develop as a major procurer of scrap.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis of the aluminium scrap and recycling market in the GCC, ′the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a major hub for scrap metal recycling, followed by the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East.′

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