China's Henan plans to idle 700,000 T aluminium capacity

Thirteen aluminium smelters in Henan, accounting for a fifth of aluminium output in China, plan to idle a total of 700,000 tonnes of primary aluminium annual capacity in coming month because of low prices and high power costs, a local industry body said on Monday.

Liu Libin, vice-chairman of the Henan Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said the smelters had been cutting production since the middle of this month.

The move would reduce aluminium production in Henan this year, now estimated below 4 million tonnes, Liu told the repoter.

The province produced more than 1.5 million tonnes of primary aluminium in the first five months of this year, more than 20 percent of China's production of 6.8 million tonnes.

China is the world's biggest producer of the metal.