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Who buys Chile’s lithium? Export destinations 2024

In 2024, Chile exported $3.1 billion of lithium (268 thousand tonnes), 25.6% of the world total. China bought 66% of the total, followed by South Korea (17%) and Japan (5%). Chile was the world’s 2nd-largest exporter of lithium.

Summary

Value
$3.1billion
Tonnes
268thousand tonnes
Share of world total
25.6%
World rank
2nd
Routes to the main destinations. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Destinations

The 20 main destinations in the latest year.

PartnerValue (USD billions)TonnesUSD per tonneShareMode
China2Tonnes: 186,173USD per tonne: $10,92965.7%Sea
South Korea0.53Tonnes: 35,772USD per tonne: $14,67816.9%Sea
Japan0.14Tonnes: 8,068USD per tonne: $17,4324.5%Sea
United States0.12Tonnes: 9,203USD per tonne: $13,4574%Sea
Netherlands re-exports0.1Tonnes: 7,981USD per tonne: $12,9703.3%Sea
Belgium re-exports0.06Tonnes: 8,098USD per tonne: $6,8601.8%Sea
United Kingdom0.03Tonnes: 2,857USD per tonne: $11,9731.1%Sea
Germany0.03Tonnes: 1,714USD per tonne: $14,7100.81%Sea
Poland0.01Tonnes: 833USD per tonne: $14,3880.39%Sea
France0.01Tonnes: 719USD per tonne: $14,0220.33%Sea
India0.01Tonnes: 733USD per tonne: $12,2730.29%Sea
Taiwan< 0.01Tonnes: 370USD per tonne: $12,7440.15%Sea
Brazil< 0.01Tonnes: 208USD per tonne: $15,2480.1%Sea
South Africa< 0.01Tonnes: 92USD per tonne: $28,3570.08%Sea
Canada< 0.01Tonnes: 316USD per tonne: $7,8900.08%Sea
Turkey< 0.01Tonnes: 145USD per tonne: $15,4650.07%Sea
Vietnam< 0.01Tonnes: 100USD per tonne: $12,6800.04%Sea
Australia< 0.01Tonnes: 50USD per tonne: $23,6110.04%Sea
Argentina< 0.01Tonnes: 194USD per tonne: $5,9250.04%Land
Mexico< 0.01Tonnes: 72USD per tonne: $12,2250.03%Sea

Trend

Who it sells to

China has been its main destination since 2021

Value in USD billions. The five largest destinations in 2024.

  • China 2
  • South Korea 0.53
  • Japan 0.14
  • United States 0.12
  • Netherlands 0.1

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
China02
South Korea< 0.010.53
Japan0.010.14
United States0.020.12
Netherlands< 0.010.1

Sources and methodology

Other products of this country

Sources and licenses

Methodology

Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), which reconciles what exporters and importers report: countries that stopped reporting (Russia since 2022) appear with their partners’ data. FOB values in current US dollars; tonnes when BACI reports them. The price per tonne is the value of the rows with a weight divided by that weight. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Data up to 2024.

Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands and Belgium re-export goods from other countries: their figures include transit.

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