Gallium price
Gallium is a soft, silvery metal that melts in your hand (29.8 °C). It is sold mainly as high-purity metal (99.99% to 99.99999%) for gallium arsenide and gallium nitride chips. China produces about 99% of the world’s primary gallium, so its export rules set the price outside China.
By RareMetals.net Editorial Team · Prices checked
Current gallium price
- China, Nov 4, 2026
- $228-261/kg
- China domestic (SMM $228/kg on 4 Nov; Daily Metal Price $261/kg on 22 Oct)
- Outside China, July 2026
- $2,000-3,050/kg
- Western/Rotterdam assessments in 2026 (about $2,100/kg in March; Argus $3,050/kg on 30 Jul). FOB China export price about $440/kg (SMM, 4 Nov)
Sources: SMM gallium benchmark, 4 Nov 2026 (via rare-earth-mining.com); Daily Metal Price, 2 Nov 2026; Argus Western gallium benchmark, Jul 2026 (via note.com). Minor-metal and rare earth markets are thin and assessments differ by provider, so ranges are shown. Yuan prices converted at 6.6 yuan per US dollar.
Last supplier list price on file: $1,854.40/kg (Metal, Ga min. 99.995%; TRADIUM, ). This list is out of date and is shown for reference only.
All rare earth and rare metal prices · How we collect prices
Gallium price history, 2021-2025 (USGS)
Annual averages from the U.S. Geological Survey, the latest official series. They show the trend up to 2025; compare them with the current prices above.
| Year | Price |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $277 |
| 2022 | $432 |
| 2023 | $365 |
| 2024 | $439 |
| 2025e | $580 |
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
What moves the gallium price?
China’s export controls
China has required export licences for gallium since August 2023 and banned exports to the United States in December 2024. In November 2025 it suspended the US ban until 27 November 2026, but licences are still required (USGS).
Chip demand
Gallium arsenide and gallium nitride go into radio-frequency chips for phones and 5G, power electronics for EV chargers and data centres, LEDs and lasers. In the US, integrated circuits take 73% of gallium and optoelectronics 26%.
By-product supply
Gallium is recovered from the liquor of alumina refineries that process bauxite. Supply depends on alumina output and on whether refineries install recovery circuits, not on gallium prices alone. China had about 1,600 tons a year of capacity in 2025, far more than it used.
Two-tier market
In 2026 gallium inside China stayed around $230-260/kg while Western assessments rose to $2,000-3,000/kg (Argus put its Western benchmark at $3,050/kg in July 2026), a gap of about ten times. Chinese export prices (FOB) sat in between, at about $440/kg in November.
New projects outside China
Projects in Australia, Canada, Greece, Kazakhstan and the United States were announced in 2025, and the US Department of War made a $29.9 million award for scandium and gallium supply. None was producing at scale by late 2026.
Where gallium comes from
| Country | Output |
|---|---|
| China | ~890 |
| Russia | 6 |
| Japan | 3 |
| World total | ~900 |
World capacity was about 1,700 tons. Germany, Hungary and Kazakhstan stopped primary production in 2013-2016.
Gallium price FAQ
How much is gallium worth per kg?
The current price is $228-261/kg in China (Nov 4, 2026) and $2,000-3,050/kg outside China (July 2026). For comparison, US imports of gallium metal had an average value of about $580/kg in 2025 (USGS).
Why is gallium so expensive outside China?
Almost all primary gallium comes from China, which has required export licences since 2023, so buyers outside China pay many times the Chinese domestic price. High-purity grades for semiconductors also need extra refining. Gallium is not rare in the crust; it is expensive because supply is concentrated and recovered only as a by-product of alumina.
Who produces the most gallium?
China, with about 99% of world primary production (about 900 tons in 2025). Japan and Russia produce small amounts.
What is gallium used for?
Mainly gallium arsenide and gallium nitride semiconductors: radio-frequency chips, power electronics, LEDs, laser diodes and solar cells for satellites.
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