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Nickel: top exporters and importers (2024)

In 2024, world trade in nickel totaled $27.5 billion (3.4 million tonnes). The top exporters were Indonesia (32%), Canada (11%) and Russia (7%); the top importers were China (34%), Japan (10%) and Norway (7%). Compared with 2019, the value rose 41%.

Summary

World trade
$27.5billion
Tonnes
3.4million tonnes
Price per tonne
$7,988
The largest flows between countries. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Top exporters

  1. Indonesia$8.7 billion · 31.6%
    see destinations
  2. Canada$3 billion · 10.9%
    see destinations
  3. Russia$2 billion · 7.4%
    see destinations
  4. Australia$1.8 billion · 6.4%
    see destinations
  5. Finland$1.6 billion · 5.9%
    see destinations
  6. Norway$1.6 billion · 5.7%
    see destinations
  7. China$1.1 billion · 4%
  8. Zimbabwe$986 million · 3.6%
  9. Netherlands$792 million · 2.9%
    re-exports
  10. United Kingdom$704 million · 2.6%
  11. South Africa$669 million · 2.4%
  12. Philippines$592 million · 2.2%
  13. Japan$553 million · 2%
  14. Papua New Guinea$422 million · 1.5%
  15. Madagascar$419 million · 1.5%
  16. Germany$400 million · 1.5%
  17. United States$376 million · 1.4%
  18. New Caledonia$285 million · 1%
  19. France$251 million · 0.91%
  20. Turkey$153 million · 0.56%

Top importers

  1. China$9.3 billion · 33.9%
    see sources
  2. Japan$2.7 billion · 10%
    see sources
  3. Norway$2 billion · 7.3%
    see sources
  4. United States$1.6 billion · 5.7%
    see sources
  5. Netherlands$1.3 billion · 4.7%
    re-exports
  6. South Africa$985 million · 3.6%
  7. Germany$985 million · 3.6%
  8. Taiwan$874 million · 3.2%
  9. France$863 million · 3.1%
  10. Finland$721 million · 2.6%
  11. United Kingdom$665 million · 2.4%
  12. Italy$652 million · 2.4%
  13. India$622 million · 2.3%
  14. South Korea$621 million · 2.3%
  15. Singapore$589 million · 2.1%
    re-exports
  16. Sweden$464 million · 1.7%
  17. Malaysia$436 million · 1.6%
  18. Austria$339 million · 1.2%
  19. Belgium$336 million · 1.2%
    re-exports
  20. Spain$237 million · 0.86%

Trend

Who sells it

Indonesia has been the top exporter since 2022

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

  • Indonesia 8.7
  • Canada 3
  • Russia 2
  • Australia 1.8
  • Finland 1.6

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Country19952024
Indonesia0.318.7
Canada1.63
Russia1.72
Australia0.811.8
Finland0.111.6

Price

Implied price

The price per tonne rose 9% since 1995

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

  • 2024: $7,988

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearUSD per tonne
1995$7,304
1996$7,287
1997$7,287
1998$5,306
1999$5,922
2000$8,078
2001$6,109
2002$6,430
2003$8,217
2004$11,557
2005$12,321
2006$18,320
2007$28,838
2008$19,019
2009$12,202
2010$17,867
2011$18,626
2012$14,286
2013$12,606
2014$12,614
2015$10,344
2016$8,524
2017$8,484
2018$10,681
2019$10,141
2020$10,451
2021$13,762
2022$13,770
2023$10,563
2024$7,988

What it includes

Unwrought nickel and nickel mattes; excludes ferronickel.

  • 7501 · Nickel matte
  • 7502 · Unwrought nickel

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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