CHINA'S top 20 aluminum smelters have cut production by more than 350,000 metric tons on an annual basis as part of a July agreement to reduce energy consumption and boost prices, China's Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said yesterday.

    The companies took production offline between July 10 and August 10 as smelting became increasingly unprofitable because of higher costs, Wen Xianjun, vice chairman of the association, said. The reduction is equivalent to 2.8 percent of the nation's production last year of 12.6 million tons, Bloomberg News said.

    Aluminum Corp of China Ltd and 19 of its peers signed an accord in July to reduce production by as much as 10 percent until the end of the year because of power shortages. Aluminum prices have tumbled 20 percent from a July record of US$3,380.15 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.