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Rare earths: top exporters and importers (2024)

In 2024, world trade in rare earths totaled $3.1 billion (247 thousand tonnes). The top exporters were Myanmar (26%), China (17%) and Malaysia (13%); the top importers were China (45%), Japan (17%) and Vietnam (7%). Compared with 2019, the value rose 79%.

Summary

World trade
$3.1billion
Tonnes
247thousand tonnes
Price per tonne
$12,617
The largest flows between countries. Width: value; color: estimated transport mode.SeaAirLand

Top exporters

  1. Myanmar$818 million · 26.3%
  2. China$520 million · 16.7%
  3. Malaysia$412 million · 13.2%
  4. Laos$260 million · 8.3%
  5. Japan$230 million · 7.4%
  6. Vietnam$228 million · 7.3%
  7. Australia$128 million · 4.1%
  8. United States$96 million · 3.1%
  9. France$82 million · 2.6%
  10. Thailand$44 million · 1.4%
  11. India$35 million · 1.1%
  12. South Korea$29 million · 0.93%
  13. Germany$28 million · 0.91%
  14. Austria$27 million · 0.87%
  15. Norway$23 million · 0.75%
  16. Estonia$22 million · 0.7%
  17. Russia$19 million · 0.6%
  18. Italy$15 million · 0.47%
  19. Netherlands$14 million · 0.46%
    re-exports
  20. Taiwan$14 million · 0.44%

Top importers

  1. China$1.4 billion · 45%
  2. Japan$516 million · 16.6%
  3. Vietnam$230 million · 7.4%
  4. United States$176 million · 5.7%
  5. Malaysia$137 million · 4.4%
  6. South Korea$98 million · 3.2%
  7. Thailand$79 million · 2.5%
  8. Philippines$62 million · 2%
  9. Germany$57 million · 1.9%
  10. Taiwan$51 million · 1.7%
  11. Singapore$31 million · 0.98%
    re-exports
  12. Turkey$24 million · 0.76%
  13. France$23 million · 0.75%
  14. North Macedonia$22 million · 0.7%
  15. Russia$20 million · 0.64%
  16. Ireland$19 million · 0.61%
  17. India$18 million · 0.59%
  18. Netherlands$17 million · 0.54%
    re-exports
  19. Spain$14 million · 0.45%
  20. Norway$14 million · 0.45%

Trend

Who sells it

Myanmar has been the top exporter since 2023

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

  • Myanmar 0.82
  • China 0.52
  • Malaysia 0.41
  • Laos 0.26
  • Japan 0.23

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
Country19952024
Myanmar00.82
China0.220.52
Malaysia< 0.010.41
Laos00.26
Japan0.050.23

Price

Implied price

The price per tonne rose 31% since 1995

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

  • 2024: $12,617

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearUSD per tonne
1995$9,597
1996$10,711
1997$10,838
1998$10,269
1999$8,599
2000$7,024
2001$6,643
2002$5,381
2003$5,318
2004$4,167
2005$6,623
2006$7,664
2007$11,492
2008$12,749
2009$9,069
2010$16,632
2011$58,206
2012$38,040
2013$20,656
2014$10,834
2015$12,366
2016$14,901
2017$9,293
2018$8,224
2019$9,014
2020$12,677
2021$18,183
2022$23,430
2023$15,801
2024$12,617

What it includes

Rare-earth metals and their compounds; excludes magnets and unprocessed ores.

  • 280530 · subheading of heading 2805: Alkali metals, rare earth metals and mercury
  • 2846 · Rare earth compounds

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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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