Primary aluminium production in the Gulf region fell to a more than 10-year low in April due to the impact of the US-Israeli war with Iran on smelter operations in the region, the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) reported.
Output was 330,000 tonnes, 35% lower than the volume for April 2025, according to the organisation’s preliminary estimates.
The Gulf accounts for about 8% of global aluminium production. At the same time, the region accounts for about 28 per cent of Japan’s imports of the metal, the US 21 per cent and the European Union 19 per cent.
“What we saw in April is probably not yet the bottom,” although production has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, IAI chairman Jonathan Grant said. “Smelters in the region are unable to resupply raw materials through the Strait of Hormuz and are trying to use alternative land routes to continue operations,” he said.
Global primary aluminium production last month fell 2.1% year-on-year to 5.922 million tonnes. In particular, output in China increased by 1.5% to 3.678 million tonnes.