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Direct-reduced iron: top exporters and importers (2024)

In 2024, world trade in direct-reduced iron totaled $4.7 billion (16.1 million tonnes). The top exporters were Russia (18%), Oman (17%) and Trinidad and Tobago (13%); the top importers were Saudi Arabia (23%), the United States (14%) and Turkey (8%). Compared with 2019, the value fell 7%.

Summary

World trade
$4.7billion
Tonnes
16.1million tonnes
Price per tonne
$293
The largest flows between countries. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Top exporters

  1. Russia$875 million · 18.5%
  2. Oman$791 million · 16.7%
  3. Trinidad and Tobago$635 million · 13.4%
  4. United States$594 million · 12.5%
  5. India$498 million · 10.5%
  6. Libya$263 million · 5.6%
  7. Sweden$238 million · 5%
  8. Malaysia$233 million · 4.9%
  9. Venezuela$105 million · 2.2%
  10. Qatar$66 million · 1.4%
  11. Belgium$63 million · 1.3%
    re-exports
  12. Iran$57 million · 1.2%
  13. China$43 million · 0.92%
  14. Algeria$40 million · 0.84%
  15. United Arab Emirates$39 million · 0.82%
  16. Brazil$34 million · 0.71%
  17. Bahrain$31 million · 0.65%
  18. Italy$15 million · 0.31%
  19. Canada$13 million · 0.27%
  20. South Africa$13 million · 0.27%

Top importers

  1. Saudi Arabia$1.1 billion · 23%
  2. United States$641 million · 13.5%
  3. Turkey$375 million · 7.9%
  4. Nepal$309 million · 6.5%
  5. Italy$234 million · 4.9%
  6. Austria$222 million · 4.7%
  7. Germany$196 million · 4.1%
  8. Mexico$184 million · 3.9%
  9. India$182 million · 3.8%
  10. Vietnam$128 million · 2.7%
  11. Bangladesh$122 million · 2.6%
  12. Kuwait$108 million · 2.3%
  13. China$106 million · 2.2%
  14. Spain$100 million · 2.1%
  15. France$100 million · 2.1%
  16. South Korea$91 million · 1.9%
  17. Belgium$90 million · 1.9%
    re-exports
  18. Egypt$79 million · 1.7%
  19. Poland$73 million · 1.6%
  20. Indonesia$34 million · 0.72%

Trend

Who sells it

Russia has been the top exporter since 2015

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

  • Russia 0.88
  • Oman 0.79
  • Trinidad and Tobago 0.63
  • United States 0.59
  • India 0.5

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Country19952024
Russia0.040.88
Oman00.79
Trinidad and Tobago0.060.63
United States0.010.59
India0.130.5

Price

Implied price

The price per tonne rose 110% since 1995

Current US dollars per tonne: value over the weight reported by BACI.

  • 2024: $293

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearUSD per tonne
1995$139
1996$91
1997$121
1998$123
1999$97
2000$119
2001$124
2002$118
2003$136
2004$253
2005$281
2006$201
2007$259
2008$391
2009$241
2010$339
2011$433
2012$371
2013$347
2014$342
2015$252
2016$226
2017$275
2018$322
2019$275
2020$242
2021$367
2022$365
2023$398
2024$293

What it includes

  • 7203 · Direct-reduced iron

Products in the same chapter

Sources and methodology

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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