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Limestone for lime and cement: top exporters and importers (2024)

In 2024, world trade in limestone for lime and cement totaled $1.3 billion (56.2 million tonnes). The top exporters were the United Arab Emirates (47%), Japan (10%) and Oman (8%); India accounted for 55% of imports, followed by Taiwan (7%) and the Netherlands (7%). Compared with 2019, the value rose 14%.

Summary

World trade
$1.3billion
Tonnes
56.2million tonnes
Price per tonne
$23
The largest flows between countries. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Top exporters

  1. United Arab Emirates$612 million · 47.1%
  2. Japan$126 million · 9.7%
  3. Oman$105 million · 8.1%
  4. Belgium$83 million · 6.4%
    re-exports
  5. Malaysia$76 million · 5.9%
  6. Vietnam$48 million · 3.7%
  7. Spain$38 million · 2.9%
  8. France$26 million · 2%
  9. Egypt$17 million · 1.3%
  10. India$15 million · 1.1%
  11. Germany$14 million · 1.1%
  12. United States$13 million · 0.98%
  13. Canada$11 million · 0.88%
  14. Thailand$11 million · 0.84%
  15. Norway$10 million · 0.8%
  16. Turkey$9 million · 0.7%
  17. United Kingdom$8 million · 0.62%
  18. Poland$7 million · 0.56%
  19. Sweden$7 million · 0.56%
  20. Austria$6 million · 0.49%

Top importers

  1. India$709 million · 54.6%
  2. Taiwan$96 million · 7.4%
  3. Netherlands$88 million · 6.8%
    re-exports
  4. South Korea$47 million · 3.7%
  5. Germany$35 million · 2.7%
  6. Japan$32 million · 2.5%
  7. Bangladesh$25 million · 1.9%
  8. Sweden$24 million · 1.9%
  9. Kuwait$24 million · 1.8%
  10. United States$22 million · 1.7%
  11. Madagascar$22 million · 1.7%
  12. Brazil$15 million · 1.2%
  13. Australia$14 million · 1.1%
  14. Canada$12 million · 0.91%
  15. Indonesia$11 million · 0.84%
  16. Hong Kong$11 million · 0.82%
    re-exports
  17. Bahrain$10 million · 0.75%
  18. Belgium$9 million · 0.68%
    re-exports
  19. Finland$8 million · 0.6%
  20. Malaysia$8 million · 0.59%

Trend

Who sells it

The United Arab Emirates has been the top exporter since 2010

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

  • United Arab Emirates 612
  • Japan 126
  • Oman 105
  • Belgium 83.3
  • Malaysia 76.3

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Country19952024
United Arab Emirates18612
Japan34.1126
Oman< 0.01105
Belgium9.283.3
Malaysia8.476.3

Price

Implied price

The price per tonne rose 126% since 1995

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

  • 2024: $23

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearUSD per tonne
1995$10
1996$11
1997$11
1998$12
1999$11
2000$15
2001$12
2002$15
2003$15
2004$16
2005$16
2006$14
2007$16
2008$21
2009$20
2010$20
2011$21
2012$21
2013$21
2014$24
2015$19
2016$18
2017$19
2018$7
2019$19
2020$18
2021$18
2022$22
2023$22
2024$23

What it includes

  • 2521 · Limestone for lime and cement

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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