indias copper use to go up

India’s copper use to go up in a big way
Commodity Online
MUMBAI: With an infrastructure boom looming large over the country, India is set to witness a big leap in the consumption of copper in the coming days.

According to reports, India will see its copper consumption going up by around 10 per cent compared with the world average of 4.56 per cent.

The government’s rural electrification plan coupled with the urbanisation of semi developed cities are likely to drive copper demand over the next decade.

Currently, India consumes approximately 6 lakh tonnes of copper with a per capita consumption of 0.4 kg.

The Chinese average for the same is 2.6 kg and the developed country average is 15 kg. The country produces approximately 8 lakh tonnes of copper, with secondary copper accounting for 25 per cent.

With the demand for energy increasing with urbanisation, the power and electronics industries are likely to attract more and more investments towards the end of the 11th Five Year Plan, which requires an additional capacity of 100 gw.

Currently, with an existing capacity of 124 gw, the country faces a shortfall of 7.3 per cent and a peak load shortfall of 11.7 per cent.

The power sector’s consumption of copper will remain high as the energy demand is estimated to grow at 6-7 per cent annually.

Copper has the property to reduce power losses during transmission. Hence, all power equipment require maximum virgin copper. Any compromise on this front would have a major impact on power generation.

Copper is also used extensively in manufacturing medical equipment.