Patrick Stratton, analyst with market research firm Roskill, made his comments as the organisation published a report on the sector.
The paper suggested that cutbacks in tantalum ore mining could result in a restriction in supply in 2011 and 2012.
Mr Stratton said that much tantalum production has been halted as a result of low prices for the ore.
He stated: "Capacitors are obviously a major user of tantalum. There is a strong possibility there could be a supply crunch of primary tantalum in 2012 and possibly as early as 2011."
The organisation noted that there was a shortage of tantalum capacitors in 2001 as a result of a supply shortage.
In other news, AVX launched a new range of low-inductance, high-ripple capacitors that it said are ideal in applications where standard devices often fall short.
