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Who buys the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s refined copper? Export destinations 2024

In 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo exported $19.5 billion of refined copper (2.1 million tonnes), 20.6% of the world total. China bought 72% of the total, followed by South Korea (5%) and Saudi Arabia (4%). The Democratic Republic of the Congo was the world’s largest exporter of refined copper.

Summary

Value
$19.5billion
Tonnes
2.1million tonnes
Share of world total
20.6%
World rank
1st
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
China14Tonnes: 1,484,931USD per tonne: $9,43671.8%Sea
South Korea0.94Tonnes: 102,303USD per tonne: $9,1634.8%Sea
Saudi Arabia0.86Tonnes: 93,214USD per tonne: $9,2014.4%Sea
Egypt0.66Tonnes: 74,575USD per tonne: $8,8233.4%Sea
Spain0.65Tonnes: 70,300USD per tonne: $9,2043.3%Sea
Italy0.4Tonnes: 43,610USD per tonne: $9,1572.1%Sea
Thailand0.37Tonnes: 38,969USD per tonne: $9,5271.9%Sea
United States0.3Tonnes: 31,593USD per tonne: $9,4561.5%Sea
Germany0.27Tonnes: 30,168USD per tonne: $8,9031.4%Sea
Malaysia0.2Tonnes: 20,715USD per tonne: $9,8291%Sea
India0.17Tonnes: 19,054USD per tonne: $9,1270.89%Sea
Canada0.16Tonnes: 17,030USD per tonne: $9,3250.81%Sea
Netherlands re-exports0.12Tonnes: 13,757USD per tonne: $8,8930.63%Sea
Belgium re-exports0.1Tonnes: 10,524USD per tonne: $9,2230.5%Sea
Bahrain0.09Tonnes: 9,024USD per tonne: $9,5450.44%Sea
South Africa0.08Tonnes: 8,305USD per tonne: $9,4300.4%Sea
France0.06Tonnes: 5,838USD per tonne: $9,9790.3%Sea
Taiwan0.03Tonnes: 3,700USD per tonne: $9,2160.17%Sea
Japan0.02Tonnes: 2,305USD per tonne: $8,5750.1%Sea
Turkey0.01Tonnes: 1,141USD per tonne: $9,1100.05%Sea

Trend

Who it sells to

China has been its main destination since 2018

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

  • China 14
  • South Korea 0.94
  • Saudi Arabia 0.86
  • Egypt 0.66
  • Spain 0.65

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Partner19952024
China014
South Korea< 0.010.94
Saudi Arabia< 0.010.86
Egypt00.66
Spain< 0.010.65

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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