EU's imports of Russian metal have fallen – ING

Although the EU continues to import Russian aluminum, volumes have fallen over the past two years, with European buyers self-sanctioning since the invasion of Ukraine, ING’s commodity analysts Ewa Manthey notes.

More Russian metal has been shipped to China

“Russia now accounts for around 6% of European imports of primary aluminum, halving from the 2022 levels. The gap left by Russian supplies has mostly been filled by imports from the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, and this trend is likely to continue.”

“More Russian metal has been shipped to China, the world's biggest aluminum consumer. China imported 263,000 tons of primary aluminum from Russia in the first three quarters of 2024, accounting for 33% of the total imports from Russia last year. We expect this trend to continue in 2025.”