ALUMINUM exports from China, the world's biggest producer of the lightweight metal, could drop to their lowest level since 2002 next year as domestic demand grows and export taxes curb overseas sales. Net exports of primary aluminum could fall to 70,000 metric tons from an estimated 85,000 tons this year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of four analysts and a trader. That compares with 548,000 tons last year and a peak of 625,000 tons in 2005, figures from CRU International Ltd show. The decline in aluminum exports next year signals that China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, may become a net importer of the metal, used in cars and planes, as early as 2009. That would bolster world prices as China switches from being a significant net exporter, said Wan Ling from CRU. "This should be supportive for prices" on the London Metal Exchange, said Wan. But, h...

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