Which Country Exports the Most Ferro-Chromium in the World?

Basic Iron And Steel May 28, 2018

Blog Blog / Basic Metals / Basic Iron And Steel

Author: Sergey Avramenko

PositionHead of Global Markets Research Team

In 2016, the amount of ferrochrome exported worldwide totaled 15M tonnes, surging by 10% against the previous year level. Overall, ferrochrome exports continue to indicate a slight curtailment. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in 2010, an increase of 26% against the previous year level. Global ferrochrome export peaked of 17M tonnes in 2007; however, from 2008 to 2016, it stood at a somewhat lower level.

In value terms, ferrochrome exports amounted to $20B in 2016. Overall, ferrochrome exports continue to indicate a deep setback. Over the period under review, global ferrochrome exports attained its maximum level of $38B in 2008; however, from 2009 to 2016, it stood at a somewhat lower level.

Top Ferrochrome Exporting Countries in the World

1. South Africa (3.5 billion USD)

2. Brazil (2.1 billion USD)

3. Kazakhstan (1.4 billion USD)

4. Russia (1.2 billion USD)

5. India (1.1 billion USD)

6. Netherlands (0.7 billion USD)

7. China (0.7 billion USD)

8. Ukraine (0.7 billion USD)

9. Norway (0.6 billion USD)

10. South Korea (0.4 billion USD)

11. France (0.3 billion USD)

12. Finland (0.2 billion USD)

Ferrochrome Exports By Country

South Africa (4.6M tonnes) represented the key exporting country with an export of around 4.6M tonnes, which resulted at 30% of total exports. Kazakhstan (1.4M tonnes) held a 9% share (based on tonnes) of global ferrochrome exports, which put it in second place, following India (9%), Ukraine (5%), and Russia (5%). The following exporters - Norway (559K tonnes), the Netherlands (527K tonnes), China (354K tonnes), Brazil (319K tonnes), South Korea (272K tonnes), Finland (256K tonnes), and France (250K tonnes) together made up 17% of total exports.

South Africa experienced a relatively flat trend pattern. At the same time, South Korea (+11.7%), Finland (+11.0%), India (+6.5%), France (+5.6%), the Netherlands (+5.2%), Norway (+1.3%), and Kazakhstan (+1.0%) displayed positive paces of growth. Moreover, South Korea emerged as the fastest growing importer/exporter in the world, with a CAGR of +11.7% from 2007-2016. Brazil experienced a relatively flat trend pattern. By contrast, Russia (-1.3%), Ukraine (-4.2%), and China (-21.7%) illustrated a downward trend over the same period. While the share of China (19%), Ukraine (3%), and South Africa (2%) increased significantly, the share of India (-3.9%) displayed negative dynamics. The shares of the other countries remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

In value terms, South Africa ($3.5B), Brazil ($2.1B) and Kazakhstan ($1.4B) were the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2016, together accounting for 36% of global exports. These countries were followed by Russia, India, the Netherlands, China, Ukraine, Norway, South Korea, France and Finland, which together accounted for a further 30%.

Finland (+8.8% per year) had the highest growth rate of ferrochrome exports, among the main exporting countries, over the last 9 year period, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Ferrochrome Export Prices By Country

The average ferrochrome export price stood at $1,282 per tonne in 2016, dropping by -15.0% against the previous year. In general, ferrochrome export price continues to indicate a perceptible curtailment. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2008, when export price increased by 38% y-o-y. In that year, average ferrochrome export price attained its maximum level of $2,375 per tonne. From 2009 to 2016, growth of average ferrochrome export price failed to regain its strength.

There were significant differences in the average export prices amongst major exporting countries. In 2016, the country with the highest export prices was Brazil ($6,598 per tonne), while South Africa ($767 per tonne) was among the lowest.

From 2007 to 2016, the most notable growth rate of ferrochrome export prices was attained by China (+5.4% per year), while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Do you want to know more about global ferrochrome market? Get the latest trends and insight from our report. It includes a wide range of statistics on