Nickel world market is characterized by rising demand and constrained supply. More than 54% if world total supply comes from only five companies. The world nickel consumption is growing by an average 3.1 per cent a year. The major producers of Nickel are Russia, followed by Australia, Canada, New Caledonia and Indonesia, which represents over 65% of total world production. The world primary nickel consumption is about 1 million tons and the largest consumption centers are Japan 200,000 tons and European Union 374,000 tons. The rapid expansion of global stainless steel production is fuelling demand for primary nickel. The nickel market overall has seen strong growth in demand. For the period 2000 to 2006, when demand peaked, consumption at the world level increased at an annual average rate of 3.8%. Although consumption increased across the world, China exhibited the largest growth. Between 2000 and 2009, its domestic demand is estimated to have risen by an annual average rate of almost 25%. This phenomenal growth has seen China become the world's largest consumer of nickel. In 1995 China accounted for a modest 4% of world consumption, increasing to almost 30% in 2008. The rise in demand for nickel in the coming years is primarily due to an increase in demand for stainless steel. Stainless steel production, the largest end-use for nickel, is forecast to reach 27Mt in 2010 (an 8% increase year-on-year), and almost 30Mt in 2011. (Data and information sourcing form www.commodityonline.com and www.mineweb.co.za )