In recent years, China and India have emerged as major players in the copper sector. Over the last decade, around 50 percent of additional global refined copper usage growth can be attributed to them. The paper provides an overview of the current and future copper supply and demand situation in both countries. Results from two market studies commissioned by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) are complemented with recent copper statistics on North-East and South-East Asia, as well as further sectoral analysis. Developments and trends in copper mining and metal production, semis production, and major end use areas are highlighted. While providing insights into sectoral patterns and growth trends, the paper provides the basis for comparing structure and output of the copper sectors in some of the major copper-using countries in Asia. Afterwards, the current copper reservoir in use associated with infrastructure, buildings, industrial equipment, transportation systems and households is assessed using the ICSG Copper Flow Model. Finally, the identified copper flows are analyzed regarding the potential impact on the future world supply and demand situation.
展开▼