Gallium supply: 99% Chinese, and the price gap export controls created

Gallium supply is the most concentrated of any critical mineral: China accounted for 99% of the world's primary low-purity gallium production in 2025, according to the USGS, with the small remainder from Japan and Russia. Gallium is recovered as a by-product of processing bauxite into alumina, and to a lesser extent from zinc residues, so it follows aluminium refining, which China dominates. World production of high-purity refined gallium was about 320 tonnes in 2024. The metal goes into gallium nitride and gallium arsenide chips for radar, 5G and satellite communications, power electronics, LEDs and optical links in data centres.

China has licensed gallium exports since 1 August 2023 and banned them in principle to the United States in December 2024. The US ban is suspended until 27 November 2026, but licensing remains and supply to foreign military users is prohibited. The effect has been a split market: buyers outside China pay far more than buyers inside it. A USGS model estimates that a complete one-year cut in Chinese gallium exports would reduce US GDP by about $3.1 billion. See China's critical mineral export controls.

Key numbers

Supply: who produces gallium

China produces almost all primary gallium from its alumina refineries. Japan and Russia produce small amounts. Germany, Hungary and Kazakhstan stopped primary production in 2016, 2015 and 2013, and Ukraine most likely stopped in 2022, per the USGS. New projects have been announced in Australia, Canada, Greece, Kazakhstan and South Korea, mostly to recover gallium from existing alumina or zinc operations. Recycling of scrap from wafer production adds secondary supply.

Demand: who uses it

Semiconductors are the main use. Gallium arsenide is used in radio-frequency chips for phones and radar and in optical devices; gallium nitride in power electronics, fast chargers, 5G base stations and military radar. The United States imports all of its primary gallium and much of it as wafers, and its imports of gallium arsenide wafers fell about 24% in 2025, per the USGS. Defense is a small but critical user: active electronically scanned array radars depend on gallium nitride.

Supply chain chokepoints

By-product economics. Gallium cannot be mined on its own; supply depends on alumina output and on refiners choosing to install recovery circuits.

Chinese licensing. Licences since 2023, a US ban suspended until November 2026 and a standing ban on military end users.

Refining to high purity. Semiconductor-grade gallium requires further refining, done mainly in China, Japan and a few other countries.

Price dynamics

Export controls split the market into two prices. Fastmarkets data cited by industry analysts showed Rotterdam gallium rising from about $250 to $265 a kilogram before the 2023 controls to $500 to $600 by December 2023. Reports in 2026 put international prices at several times Chinese domestic levels, but published figures vary widely by source and date and should be checked against a benchmark such as Fastmarkets before use ⏳. The gap itself, not any single number, measures how tight licensing is.

Historical disruptions

Companies and assets along the chain

China. Chalco and other alumina refiners with gallium recovery circuits.

Outside China. Dowa (Japan), Rio Tinto (gallium recovery project in Quebec), Nyrstar (Australia), Metlen (Greece) and Kazakh producers restarting capacity.

Users. Wolfspeed, Qorvo, Skyworks, Infineon and defense contractors making radar and communication systems. This entry is descriptive: the encyclopedia does not publish recommendations.

What to watch

• 27 November 2026, when the US ban suspension expires.
• Chinese export licences and customs data by destination.
• Start-up of new gallium recovery projects outside China.
• International and Chinese price benchmarks and the gap between them.

FAQ

Which country produces the most gallium? China, with 99% of primary low-purity gallium production in 2025, according to the USGS. Japan and Russia produce the rest.

Why does China control gallium? Because gallium is a by-product of alumina refining and China runs most of the world's alumina capacity, with recovery circuits installed. Other countries stopped producing because Chinese supply was cheaper.

Has China banned gallium exports? China has required export licences since August 2023 and banned exports to the United States in December 2024. The US ban is suspended until 27 November 2026, but licences are still needed and sales to military users are prohibited.

What is gallium used for? Mainly semiconductors: gallium arsenide and gallium nitride chips for phones, 5G, radar, satellites, power electronics, LEDs and data centre optics.