Exports of the two technology metals are not developing in parallel: exports of gallium have reached an all-time high, while germanium remains below the previous year's level.
Main producer China exported a total of 15,570 kilograms of gallium in October, more than three times as much as in September. A similarly high quantity of gallium was last exported in June 2022. There was a clear distribution among the recipient countries. At 10,000 kilograms, the majority went to Germany. Japan received 5,000 kilograms, while significantly smaller quantities went to Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand. This contrasts with September, when only Germany was supplied according to customs statistics.
Germanium supplies do not close the supply gap
Exports of germanium also increased: At 1,258 kilograms, more than twice as much was delivered abroad in October than in the previous month. Russia received the lion's share with 930 kilograms, followed by Germany with 222 kilograms and Taiwan with 100 kilograms. Only three kilograms each went to Bulgaria and Belarus.
Development of Chinese gallium exports from October 2023 to October 2025.
Development of Chinese germanium exports from October 2023 to October 2025.
Although exports of the two technology metals have recently increased, there are clear differences in their development over a longer period of time. According to data from the Chinese customs administration, germanium exports in the first ten months of the current year were well below the previous year's level. In contrast, slightly higher quantities of gallium left the country up to and including October 2025 than in the same period last year.
Dr Christian Hell, Senior Manager Germanium & Minor Metals, analyses the current figures: “The export figures for gallium and germanium are now clearly diverging. The supply of germanium remains tight and does not even come close to meeting demand. The market is still lacking an order of magnitude that can roughly be described as one year's global production. This is a gap that cannot be closed in the short term. The picture is different for gallium: Germany was the largest recipient in October with a delivery of around ten tonnes. It is obvious that China wants to secure its own supply of high-quality wafers and high-frequency chips based on gallium arsenide, which are manufactured in Germany to a very high quality. China is dependent to a certain extent on supplies from Germany for these primary products.”
Both gallium and germanium are important raw materials for high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, fibre optic production and optical technologies. Both have been subject to Chinese export restrictions since summer 2023 due to their potential use in military technology. The introduction of this strict licensing system has limited the quantity available on the global market.
