Gallium: Criticality

Why few metals are as concentrated as gallium

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	Yes	Has produced no primary gallium since 1987, is 100% import reliant, imported about 25,000 kg of metal at $580/kg in 2025, and is funding recovery from alumina and waste streams (USGS 2026).
EU	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	Yes	Lost primary output when Germany (2016) and Hungary (2015) closed plants, lists gallium as critical and strategic with 0% end-of-life recycling, and expects Metlen's 50 t/yr Greek plant from 2027-28 (EU CRM 2023; Mining Weekly).
India	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	Yes	Has no current gallium production and imports all its needs; NALCO plans a 10 t/yr unit at Damanjodi and gallium is on India's 2023 critical list (IBM 2018).
China	n/a	98.7%	–	–	–	No	Produced about 900 t of primary gallium in 2025 (99% of world) with 1,600 t of capacity, and uses export licences and bans as leverage (USGS 2026).
Japan	n/a	0.3%	–	–	–	Yes	Produces about 3 t a year of primary gallium but is a major consumer and recycler: it used about 150 t in 2016, about 44% of world consumption, and met 44% of its supply from recovered scrap (USGS 2026; IBM 2018).
Latin America	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	no list	No primary gallium production is reported despite the region's large bauxite and alumina industry (USGS 2026).
Middle East	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	no list	No primary gallium production is reported (USGS 2026).
Australia	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	Yes	The largest bauxite producer has no current gallium output, but Alcoa's 100 t/yr Wagerup plant, backed by the US, Australian and Japanese governments, targets production from 2026 (Alcoa 2025).

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Gallium is critical and strategic for the EU, with supply risk 3.9 and economic importance 3.7, and is on the US 2025 and India 2023 lists. EU import reliance is 98%. Few metals show such extreme concentration, and China has used it openly as a trade lever since 2023. Substitutes are partial: silicon in solar cells and some amplifiers, indium phosphide in certain lasers. For many defence radars and power devices, none is effective. Graedel and colleagues place gallium's risk mainly on the supply side (PNAS, pdf p. 1).

EU 2023 Critical also a strategic raw material US 2025 list Yes India 2023 list Yes Production HHI 9,739 highly concentrated

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Gallium: supply risk 3.9, economic importance 3.7. EU import reliance, processing 98% EU recycling input rate 0% US net import reliance, 2025 100% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Organic liquid crystals for LED displays; silicon CMOS for some GaAs amplifiers; indium phosphide for some laser diodes; silicon in solar cells; no effective substitute in many defence uses