Nalco aluminium exports down 20% in FY09

New Delhi, April 10: Nalco, the country's second largest aluminium producer, reported a 20 per cent decline in the export of the metal in 2008-09 amid slackening demand in the wake of the industrial downturn. The company's exports fell to 82,000 tonnes as against 1.02 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. "We pushed for more domestic sales (during the fiscal) as it was relatively lucrative than the export market, which led to a decline in our shipments," Nalco Director (Finance) B L Bagra told PTI. Not only did the company's exports shrink, the sales realisation too took a beating as commodity prices crashed by 70 per cent over the last six months, he added. "Price recovery has been low. Aluminium prices went down to $1,200 a tonne during the January-March period," Bagra said. Though the London Metal Exchange (LME) sets the benchmark for metal prices, global buyers preferred purchasing the commodity locally to avoid paying import duty and logistics cost, one of the reasons for the dip in Nalco's exports. However, backed by an improved demand from domestic buyers, mainly power transmission companies, the Navratna PSU reported 7.5 per cent growth in sales in the country to 2.7 lakh tonnes in the fiscal over the year-ago period.