Revised figures still show Russia as largest destination for Irish alumina exports
Ireland’s statistics office revised down earlier figures on alumina exports to Russia, but Russia remains the biggest single destination for shipments from the Rusal-owned Aughinish Alumina refinery.
Ireland’s Central Statistics Office revised external trade data for alumina exports, but the updated figures still show Russia as the largest individual destination for shipments from the country’s only alumina producer, the Rusal-owned Aughinish Alumina refinery.
The new figures show that 50.25 percent of Aughinish Alumina’s exports went to Russia in the first quarter of 2026, while 39.22 percent went to the EU, according to figures reviewed by The Irish Times. The remainder went to other non-EU countries.
In 2025, 43 percent of Irish alumina exports — 775,985 tonnes — went to Russia, while 38.3 percent, or 689,785 tonnes, went to the EU. Earlier CSO figures had put the Russia share at 66.8 percent for 2025.
The revision follows questions over the original data. In May, CSO figures showed that 83 percent of alumina exports in the first quarter of 2026 had gone to Russia, while only 0.6 percent went to the EU. Government ministers later disputed those figures, saying Aughinish had told them that 45 percent of exports went to Russia. Aughinish subsequently told The Irish Times it had inadvertently provided incorrect figures to the CSO because of a “clerical error.”
The revised figures still show Russia receiving significantly more Irish alumina than any individual EU country. France was the second-largest destination in the first quarter of 2026, receiving 77,156 tonnes for an aluminum smelter in Dunkirk. Sweden received just under 70,000 tonnes during the same period, where Rusal also operates an aluminum smelter, The Irish Times wrote.
The updated data come as the Irish government prepares to send its review of Aughinish Alumina to Brussels. The report is expected to say it cannot rule out the possibility that Irish-produced alumina is ending up in Russian military supply chains because of a lack of hard evidence, The Irish Times reported, citing sources familiar with the review.
However, the report is unlikely to conclude that material from the County Limerick plant is being used in Russia’s arms industry, according to the newspaper. The Irish government is expected to send the review to Brussels and begin talks with the European Commission, a process The Irish Times reported is unlikely to conclude before the autumn.
The report is being prepared by officials in Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, though Enterprise Minister Peter Burke had not yet received a final version, according to The Irish Times. Nationalization of the refinery is not currently planned, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the issue; Ireland’s attorney general has advised that the legal threshold for such a move has not been crossed.
The Ukrainian embassy in Ireland told The Irish Times that Ukraine looked forward to the investigation’s conclusion and to discussing the findings with Irish authorities. The embassy also said Ukraine remained committed to working with Ireland to ensure that economic activity from Irish territory does not help Russia sustain its war.
The revised figures follow last week’s European Parliament vote backing a non-binding call to ban alumina exports to Russia. The vote increased pressure on Ireland and EU member states after a March investigation by OCCRP and The Irish Times traced Irish alumina to Russian smelters linked to a supply chain serving sanctioned Russian arms manufacturers. Reporters could not trace a specific batch of Irish alumina into a particular weapon.