Chile lithium output to reach 335,000 tonnes in 2027

Chilean lithium production will rise 3.1 percent in 2027 to 335,000 tonnes, state commission Cochilco said in a report on November 12, after closing 2026 at an expected 325,000 tonnes.

Why it matters: Cochilco also expects the global lithium market to swing from a 79,000 tonne deficit this year to a 42,000 tonne surplus in 2027, a balance that caps the price support Chile modest growth would otherwise imply.

Data as of Single sourced: Reuters report of November 12, 2026, reporting Cochilco figures; the Cochilco report itself was not among the candidates. Event date November 12, 2026.

Chilean lithium production will grow 3.1 percent in 2027 to 335,000 tonnes, according to a November 12 report by the state copper commission Cochilco, reported by Reuters. Production in 2026 is expected to close at 325,000 tonnes, after 311,000 tonnes in 2025.

Between January and July this year, 74 percent of Chilean lithium exports were lithium carbonate, 21 percent sulfate and 5 percent hydroxide. Chile holds 25 percent of the world available lithium reserves.

Cochilco expects the global market to close this year with a deficit of 79,000 tonnes and to move to a surplus of 42,000 tonnes in 2027. On those figures, Chile is growing output steadily from the Atacama brine operations into a market that its own state forecaster expects to be oversupplied next year, which limits the revenue benefit of the volume growth unless prices respond to the earlier deficit.

Chile lithium output to reach 335,000 tonnes in 2027

Sources