2024: World alumina production grows 2.6%, supported by Chinese refineries with strong profitability to afford high-priced bauxite

The world alumina production saw a significant hike in 2024, withstanding the bauxite supply shortage compared to the growth in demand. China, the world’s largest alumina producer, saw a continued bauxite supply gap in 2024 yet exceeded expected production. That could be possible due to the significant profitability of alumina refineries, enabling them to accept high-priced bauxite and continue operations.

Image source: Made-in-China

According to the International Aluminium Insititute, the world’s alumina production totalled 147.047 million tonnes in 2024, reflecting an annual increase of 2.61 per cent from 143.313 million tonnes. Of the total output in 2024, metallurgical-grade alumina accounted for 93.95 per cent by producing 138.151 million tonnes, while chemical-grade accounted for 6.05 per cent, amounting to 8.896 million tonnes.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the world production of metallurgical-grade alumina was 35.707 million tonnes, up by 2.43 per cent from 34.86 million tonnes in Q3 2024 driven by the M-o-M rise in December from 11.691 million tonnes to 12.116 million tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, the world’s Q4 metallurgical-grade alumina production was 4.33 per cent higher than 34.224 million tonnes in Q4 2023.