Sri Lanka’s Alumex Plc to compete to expand from the domestic market to the export market
Sri Lanka’s Alumex Plc, which has reportedly commissioned the country’s largest aluminum extrusion plant, has announced that the Company looking at entering the export market and plans to compete strongly in a domestic market.
With the opening of a Rs. 2 billion plant with the most modern technology and an output of 1,200 metric tonnes a month, Alumex is reportedly looking at reducing prices and meeting global competition.
“We’re trying to match the prices of the United Arab Emirates,” Managing Director Pramuk Dediwela has reportedly said.
“If we can match those prices, we don’t have to worry about imports coming from any part of the world.”
He has explained that aluminium products in the UAE have high standards at low cost.
According to reports, the Sri Lankan government has announced plans to remove all protectionist tariffs by 2020 to make the economy competitive.
The aluminium sector has 30 percent import tariffs.
“It is a protected industry,” Dediwela has said.
He has noted that with the addition of Alumex’s new plant, local supply capacity is three times the current local demand of 15,000 metric tonnes per annum.
Dediwela has told the media that with the opportunities the port city project and the general construction boom are presenting, all local manufacturers have expanded capacity.
Alumex alone has a 24,000 metric tonne annual capacity, he said.
“With this plant, the country doesn’t need to import any aluminium extrusions,” he has said.
OSL take:
The move by Sri Lanka’s Alumex Plc to expand from the domestic market to the export market indicates a clear expansion in the company. Since the commissioning of the new aluminum extrusion the company will be able to meet the domestic demand for aluminum and is looking at competing in the foreign market. It is a clear indication of the strength of local industries. Foreign businesses/investors could look at forming joint ventures with such local companies and look at trading in the international markets.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21082018/Z_1 |