The Brazilian aluminum industry has stopped asking for tax breaks on imports of the light metal for the first time in nearly a decade, as the country reduces its dependence on foreign suppliers. “We realized from studies of demand versus production that it would not be necessary (to ask for an import quota for 2023)”, said Janaina Donas, president of the Brazilian Aluminum Association (Abal). Brazil is on its way to self-sufficiency in aluminum, nine years after an energy crisis that sent electricity prices soaring and forced producers to close energy-intensive factories. The resumption of production at Alumar, Alcoa, and the additional capacity planned by Cia. Brasileira de Alumínio in 2023 will increase Brazil’s aluminum capacity by 49%, to around 1.4 million tons this year. The changes, added to the high rate of scrap recycling, mean that Brazil will be able to produce enough aluminum to meet its domestic needs.
Source: Money Times/Datamar News