Continued production from inefficient smelters along with market forces are key reasons behind alleged overcapacity in the aluminium market, not excess output by companies in China and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region, according to key industry executives.
Speaking during the executive panel at the Fastmarkets International Aluminium conference on Tuesday September 22, the international adviser to China Hongqiao Group, the world's largest aluminium producer, and the chief executive officer of Aluminium Bahrain, which operates the world's biggest smelter outside China, pushed back on a report often cited as justification for criticism of their regions. That report, released in January 2019 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), alleged massive government subsidies for certain aluminium producers, including those in the GCC, and particularly in China.Ali Al Baqali of state-owned Aluminium Bahrain told delegates that he did not think the OECD report "truly reflected the reality" of the global situation."Alba doesn't receive any government subsidies[although] I don't...