Chilean lithium production will grow 3.1% year-on-year in 2027 to reach 335,000 tonnes, according to a Thursday report by state copper commission Cochilco.
Production this year is expected to close at 325,000 tonnes, after totaling 311,000 in 2025.
Between January and July this year, 74% of Chilean exports were lithium carbonate, 21% sulfate and 5% hydroxide.
Sulfate exports grew from the 11% registered in 2025, becoming a strategic product for Chinese refineries, the report said.
The global market will close this year with a deficit of 79,000 tonnes, while 2027 will show a surplus of 42,000 tonnes, Cochilco added.
Chile holds 25% of the world’s available lithium reserves.
“Thanks to the unique evaporation and concentration conditions of the Atacama salt flat, our production maintains a stable and predictable growth trajectory,” said Paulina Avila, a mining market analyst.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
