Melting solution: FAS is asked to lower domestic aluminum prices
The State Duma is asking the FAS to set the price of aluminum in the Russian Federation based on the principle of export parity. Currently, the cost of metal in foreign markets is much lower than in domestic markets. This situation reduces the competitiveness of Russian goods, increases the creditworthiness and unprofitability of enterprises, which in the future may lead to job losses and a reduction in tax revenues, according to the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition. The FAS stated that they are monitoring the situation with metal pricing. At the same time, the monopolist company Rusal was recommended to approve a trade and sales policy for domestic consumers in order to avoid violations of antimonopoly legislation.
Why is Russian aluminum more expensive in Russia than in the world
The Federal Antimonopoly Service is being asked to intervene in the pricing of aluminum, which is more expensive on the domestic market today than on the global market. Sergei Lisovsky, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition, made such a request to Maxim Shaskolsky, head of the service.
The document, which Izvestia has, states that today Rusal is the only monopolist in the production of primary aluminum in Russia, and the federal antimonopoly service is charged with balancing the prices of this metal for consumers in the domestic and foreign markets.
Primary aluminum is a metal produced in the factory from aluminum ore (alumina). This is one of the most sought-after export products, it serves as a raw material for the further production of products from it. According to the Aluminum Association, the volume of primary aluminum production in the Russian Federation is about 4 million tons per year. The entire specified volume is produced by companies within the Rusal Group. The share of domestic consumption is about 1.1 million tons, exports (to more than 50 countries) — 2.9 million tons. Key export destinations: China (more than 60% in physical terms), South Korea (about 10%), Turkey (7%).
"In 2007-2025, the determination of marginal prices for aluminum in the domestic market of the Russian Federation was carried out on the basis of FAS regulations. The key principle in pricing was compliance with the export parity rule: the cost of aluminum for Russian consumers should not exceed its cost for consumers in the key export market," the document says.
However, in October 2025, by the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the current regulation was abolished. Instead, the regulator suggested that the monopolist company should be guided by the general antimonopoly legislation, as well as proceed from the fact that the price for the domestic market should not exceed the export price. As Sergey Lisovsky emphasizes, five months later — by February 2026 - there were no restrictions on the cost of primary aluminum for Russian consumers.
The appeal notes that since 2022, due to bans on trade in aluminum of Russian origin and the destruction of international logistics chains, there has been a shortage on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which has led to a significant increase in quotations. The key export market shifted to China, and the main export contracts were focused on quotes from the Shanghai Metal Exchange (5-10% lower than the LME). However, these global changes did not affect the pricing of the monopolist in the domestic market. In this regard, starting in 2022, Russian consumers of primary aluminum are forced to purchase it at prices higher than foreign buyers. Depending on the exchange rate, the difference could reach $500-700 per ton (about 25% of the value of the goods).
"Under these conditions, Russian aluminum products are losing price competition to imported ones, even in the domestic market, since the cost of raw materials accounts for up to 90% of the price of the final product, depending on the product range," the document says.
The State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition reports that currently Russia's largest factories that use metal are actually forced to work at a loss and increase their credit burden. In particular, not only production is at risk, but also jobs and tax revenues. As an example, the deputies cite the country's largest aluminum processor, KUMZ JSC, whose capacity is less than half loaded.
"In order to ensure Russia's technological sovereignty in the production of aluminum products, it is necessary to ensure a competitive price for the primary metal in the domestic market. Such a cost should be set based on the principle of export parity: the cost of aluminum for the domestic consumer should not exceed the prices at which it is exported," the document says.
The very rule of the marginal price in the domestic market should be established by the FAS regulation for a period (taking into account the duration of the investment cycle in metallurgy) of at least 10 years, suggests Sergey Lisovsky to the head of the antimonopoly service.
Rusal declined to comment. Izvestia sent a request to companies that manufacture aluminum products.
What are the risks of high aluminum prices for Russia
The antimonopoly service told Izvestia that the deputy's appeal was received by the service on March 5 and is under consideration.
"At the same time, in October 2025, in order to reduce the risks of violating antimonopoly legislation, the FAS recommended that the largest aluminum producer develop and approve a trade and sales policy, which is being intensively worked on," the agency's press service stressed.
They also noted that they keep the situation with aluminum pricing under control.
"According to the service, priority should be given to protecting the interests of domestic consumers, and pricing should ensure a balance between the interests of producers and consumers of primary aluminum, create conditions for sustainable growth and modernization of interconnected industries," the department said.
The cost of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange on March 16 was $3,406 (276 thousand rubles), and on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) it was 24,780 yuan (290.9 thousand rubles).
— The issue of price is always sensitive for both the manufacturer and the consumers of its products. Therefore, the victory in this issue will be won by the side whose lobby will be stronger," Ahmed Aliyev, a leading analyst of companies in the mining and metallurgical sector and the fertilizer industry at T—Investments, told Izvestia.
At the same time, the expert admitted that the decision would not be made in favor of Rusal. As an example, he cited the fertilizer industry, which is sold in Russia at a fixed price, disconnected from the global ones.
— Metal prices are very volatile and it is very difficult to establish any regulations for them. Although the situation itself, when the domestic price is higher than the export price, looks strange. In classical economics, such things occur once in a thousand phenomena," Georgy Ostapkovich, scientific director of the HSE Center for Market Research, told Izvestia.
According to him, the issue should be resolved by the FAS together with the government, aluminum producers and businesses that produce metal products in order to achieve a balance of interests. At the same time, such measures may affect the profitability of the company, which is not very large in modern world conditions today, and also affect capital programs for the modernization of factories that are actively being implemented at the present time.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
