CHALCO, formally known as Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., boosted annual aluminum output by 16 percent in 2018, putting it ahead of Russia’s Rusal as the world’s second-biggest publicly traded producer of the metal.

The increase underscores China’s growing dominance of the global aluminum market, as the world’s biggest producer and consumer of the metal, although weak aluminum prices have already led to some production being shuttered this year.

Shanghai-listed Chalco’s aluminum production came in at 4.17 million tons last year, beating the 3.753 million tons churned out by Rusal.

The Russian company, formerly the world’s top producer, had already been overtaken in terms of output by China Hong- qiao Group in 2015.

Chalco’s unlisted parent, Chinalco, now has a group capacity in excess of 5 million tons after taking over Yunnan Aluminum last year.

U.S. sanctions on Rusal, announced last April but withdrawn in January, did not have any major impact on the Russian company’s production, but its aluminum sales did fall 7.2 percent in 2018.

Rusal will keep its aluminum production stable at 3.8 million tons in 2019, its stakeholder En+ said.

Beijing-based Chalco last produced more metal than Rusal in 2012, when both firms produced more than 4 million tons of aluminum, according to a review of company filings.

Chalco, which in late 2017 started a 500,000-ton-per-year aluminum smelter in Inner Mongolia, managed to raise annual output considerably despite being forced to close some production toward the end of the year as Shanghai aluminum prices tanked. (SD-Agencies)