India’s copper cathode imports rose by 98.27pc to 120,936mt in Jan-Nov 2019 from 69,329mt in the prior year period.
India’s refined copper imports increased to 132,406 in the period, up by 39.82pc from 79,687mt Jan-Nov 2018.
India’s refined copper imports went up by 49.42pc to 91,891mt in June-Nov 2019 from 61,500mt in the prior year. Imports of refined copper rose following the closure of Vedanta’s Tuticorin copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu in May 2018.
In June-Nov 2019, copper cathodes imports increased by 53.09pc to 78,352mt from 51,181mt in the prior-year period.
In Nov 2019, copper cathode imports went up by 42.6pc to 13,246mt from 7,603mt in Nov 2018. Refined copper imports rose by 40.45pc to 14,177mt from 8,442mt in the prior year.
The closure of Tuticorin turned India into a net importer of copper cathodes, from being a net exporter for the past 18 years.
Copper Scrap imports
India’s copper scrap imports increased to 228,668mt in Jan-Nov period from 175,608mt in the prior year period. In Nov 2019, India imported 21,665mt from 19,263mt in Nov 2018.
India’s domestic copper production fell by 46.63pc to 265,217 in 2019, from 496,906mt in 2018, according to the Ministry of Mines.