Lead is an easily worked and corrosion-resistant metal. It used to make pipes, paint, car batteries, ammunition, cable sheathing, radiation protection and in some solders. Lead containers store corrosive liquids.
Breaking down lead sold on international markets into its product subcategories, the top seller is unwrought lead at 82.3% of the global total. In second place is lead waste and scrap (7.4%) trailed by lead plates, sheets, strips and foil (5.4%) then miscellaneous articles made from lead (4.4%).
Among continents, European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported lead during 2019 with shipments valued at $3 billion or 41.5% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Asia at 31.2% while 12.6% of worldwide lead shipments originated from North America, with 8.4% coming from Oceania mostly Australia. Smaller percentages came from Latin America (3.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (3%).
For research purposes, the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for lead is 78.
Top Lead Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of lead (including articles made from lead) during 2019.
- South Korea: US$775.2 million (10.6% of total lead exports)
- Australia: $611.2 million (8.4%)
- Canada: $553.5 million (7.6%)
- United Kingdom: $519.9 million (7.1%)
- India: $396.1 million (5.4%)
- Germany: $392.6 million (5.4%)
- Belgium: $368.3 million (5.1%)
- Mexico: $213.5 million (2.9%)
- Bulgaria: $195.8 million (2.7%)
- France: $189.1 million (2.6%)
- Poland: $188.6 million (2.6%)
- Malaysia: $187.3 million (2.6%)
- Russia: $166.7 million (2.3%)
- Sweden: $161.7 million (2.2%)
- Netherlands: $154.8 million (2.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 69.7% of globally exported lead in 2019.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of lead since 2015 were: India (up 123.8%), South Korea (up 48.7%), Sweden (up 26.5%) and Bulgaria (up 22.3%).
Five top suppliers posted declines in their international sales of lead: Australia (down -25.4%), Malaysia (down -21.3%), Germany (down -12.6%), Poland (down -12%) and Russia (down -3.3%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for lead during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported lead and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$600.8 million (net export surplus down -26.2% since 2015)
- Canada: $536.2 million (up 2.3%)
- South Korea: $468.7 million (up 217.6%)
- Belgium: $238.1 million (up 20.2%)
- Russia: $151.3 million (down -9.3%)
- Mexico: $149.7 million (up 17%)
- Sweden: $143.9 million (up 35.2%)
- Bulgaria: $121.1 million (up 6.9%)
- Kazakhstan: $111.1 million (down -41.1%)
- Malaysia: $102.9 million (down -37.6%)
- Ecuador: $65 million (up 81.6%)
- United Kingdom: $62.5 million (reversing an -$882,000 deficit)
- Lebanon: $57.2 million (up 149.7%)
- France: $57 million (up 16.4%)
- Saudi Arabia: $54.7 million (reversing a -$16.2 million deficit)
Australia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of lead. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Australia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for lead during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported lead purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$931.9 million (net export deficit up 4.1% since 2015)
- Vietnam: -$366.8 million (up 69.7%)
- China: -$306.5 million (reversing a $112.1 million surplus)
- Spain: -$284.7 million (up 57.2%)
- Turkey: -$257.3 million (up 37%)
- India: -$242 million (down -25.2%)
- Thailand: -$225.4 million (up 30%)
- Czech Republic: -$202.5 million (up 60.1%)
- Taiwan: -$154.3 million (up 53.2%)
- Germany: -$137.9 million (reversing a $105.4 million surplus)
- Indonesia: -$110.1 million (down -10.8%)
- Italy: -$109.7 million (up 11%)
- Philippines: -$107.7 million (up 205.8%)
- Brazil: -$99.9 million (down -21.5%)
- Slovenia: -$92.6 million (up 71.3%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of lead. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for lead-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Lead Exporting Companies
Below are lead businesses that represent established players engaged in the international trade of lead. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.
- EaglePicher Technologies (United States)
- Glencore plc (United Kingdom/Switzerland)
- NL Industries (United States)
- Ryazan Plant (Russia)
Searchable List of Lead Exporting Countries
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2018 data was unavaliable.
| Rank | Exporter | Lead Exports (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Korea | $775,165,000 | -11.7% |
| 2. | Australia | $611,229,000 | -25.4% |
| 3. | Canada | $553,454,000 | -8.9% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $519,940,000 | -13.1% |
| 5. | India | $396,059,000 | -9.2% |
| 6. | Germany | $392,556,000 | -22.2% |
| 7. | Belgium | $368,292,000 | -1.3% |
| 8. | Mexico | $213,528,000 | -6.4% |
| 9. | Bulgaria | $195,828,000 | -1.7% |
| 10. | France | $189,103,000 | -7.3% |
| 11. | Poland | $188,558,000 | -6.4% |
| 12. | Malaysia | $187,257,000 | -9.7% |
| 13. | Russia | $166,672,000 | -30.6% |
| 14. | Sweden | $161,710,000 | -12.7% |
| 15. | Netherlands | $154,800,000 | -26.4% |
| 16. | Czech Republic | $150,513,000 | -12.2% |
| 17. | United States | $149,401,000 | -48.8% |
| 18. | Italy | $120,510,000 | +3.2% |
| 19. | Kazakhstan | $113,739,000 | -44.4% |
| 20. | United Arab Emirates | $89,547,000 | -18.6% |
| 21. | Taiwan | $71,470,000 | -20% |
| 22. | Ecuador | $66,232,000 | +13.2% |
| 23. | China | $64,066,000 | -51.6% |
| 24. | Japan | $63,992,000 | +61.8% |
| 25. | Vietnam | $63,685,000 | -28.4% |
| 26. | Saudi Arabia | $61,868,000 | +18.7% |
| 27. | Lebanon | $57,315,000 | +25.6% |
| 28. | Austria | $54,159,000 | -2.9% |
| 29. | Ireland | $46,209,000 | -17.9% |
| 30. | Israel | $46,026,000 | -18.2% |
| 31. | Argentina | $44,541,000 | -44.7% |
| 32. | Nigeria | $43,865,000 | +0.3% |
| 33. | Spain | $41,197,000 | -0.1% |
| 34. | Romania | $38,822,000 | -8.1% |
| 35. | South Africa | $35,751,000 | +14.9% |
| 36. | Myanmar (Burma) | $35,368,000 | +43.2% |
| 37. | Singapore | $35,163,000 | -26.6% |
| 38. | Chile | $32,100,000 | -7.5% |
| 39. | Ukraine | $30,315,000 | -10% |
| 40. | Greece | $29,521,000 | -31.9% |
| 41. | Philippines | $28,911,000 | +7.3% |
| 42. | Peru | $24,719,000 | -0.6% |
| 43. | Portugal | $24,591,000 | -13.2% |
| 44. | Estonia | $24,261,000 | -13.8% |
| 45. | Zambia | $22,339,000 | +56.1% |
| 46. | Serbia | $22,244,000 | +23.9% |
| 47. | Turkey | $22,211,000 | +0.5% |
| 48. | Thailand | $19,699,000 | -65.4% |
| 49. | Egypt | $19,115,000 | +153% |
| 50. | Brazil | $18,976,000 | -48.8% |
| 51. | Indonesia | $18,012,000 | -20.2% |
| 52. | Costa Rica | $14,946,000 | -27.5% |
| 53. | Sri Lanka | $14,559,000 | -26.7% |
| 54. | Tanzania | $14,451,000 | -10.4% |
| 55. | Croatia | $13,966,000 | -10.8% |
| 56. | Sudan | $13,539,000 | -13.3% |
| 57. | Iraq | $12,725,000 | +224.8% |
| 58. | Slovenia | $12,504,000 | -7.6% |
| 59. | Finland | $12,418,000 | -4% |
| 60. | Azerbaijan | $12,125,000 | +11% |
| 61. | Ghana | $11,655,000 | -44.5% |
| 62. | Jordan | $11,075,000 | -21.4% |
| 63. | Dominican Republic | $9,913,000 | +229.3% |
| 64. | Qatar | $9,815,000 | +83.1% |
| 65. | Georgia | $9,516,000 | +41.5% |
| 66. | Laos | $9,057,000 | 0% |
| 67. | Venezuela | $9,044,000 | -48% |
| 68. | Angola | $8,718,000 | +174,260% |
| 69. | Kyrgyzstan | $8,576,000 | +227.7% |
| 70. | Senegal | $7,952,000 | +5.9% |
| 71. | Slovakia | $7,721,000 | +20% |
| 72. | Cameroon | $7,586,000 | -10.2% |
| 73. | Belarus | $7,515,000 | -67% |
| 74. | Lithuania | $6,964,000 | -1% |
| 75. | Hungary | $6,758,000 | -8.4% |
| 76. | Switzerland | $6,405,000 | -18.7% |
| 77. | Denmark | $5,752,000 | -11.4% |
| 78. | Paraguay | $5,610,000 | +37.2% |
| 79. | Tunisia | $4,766,000 | -68.8% |
| 80. | Guatemala | $4,636,000 | -5.2% |
| 81. | Albania | $4,603,000 | +10.4% |
| 82. | Panama | $4,516,000 | +55.2% |
| 83. | Kuwait | $4,498,000 | +260.1% |
| 84. | Pakistan | $4,497,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Nepal | $4,387,000 | +6.5% |
| 86. | Uzbekistan | $4,265,000 | -9.9% |
| 87. | Yemen | $3,789,000 | -80.3% |
| 88. | New Zealand | $3,319,000 | -13.3% |
| 89. | Burundi | $3,192,000 | +45,500% |
| 90. | Rwanda | $3,110,000 | -38.1% |
| 91. | Cuba | $2,754,000 | -14.8% |
| 92. | Colombia | $2,509,000 | -63.6% |
| 93. | El Salvador | $2,453,000 | -27.4% |
| 94. | Palestine | $2,310,000 | -12.1% |
| 95. | Gabon | $2,268,000 | +0.8% |
| 96. | Tajikistan | $2,244,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Cambodia | $2,184,000 | +5,647% |
| 98. | Norway | $2,169,000 | -41.4% |
| 99. | Botswana | $2,066,000 | +119.3% |
| 100. | Libya | $1,980,000 | -68.8% |
| 101. | Latvia | $1,912,000 | -46.6% |
| 102. | Algeria | $1,832,000 | -51.4% |
| 103. | Oman | $1,829,000 | +62.4% |
| 104. | Togo | $1,798,000 | -31.5% |
| 105. | Namibia | $1,660,000 | -72.5% |
| 106. | Mongolia | $1,589,000 | -34.7% |
| 107. | Honduras | $1,518,000 | -78.8% |
| 108. | Bolivia | $1,486,000 | +28.2% |
| 109. | Hong Kong | $1,425,000 | -15% |
| 110. | Anguilla | $1,402,000 | 0% |
| 111. | Mozambique | $1,394,000 | +153% |
| 112. | Morocco | $1,297,000 | -64.2% |
| 113. | Bahrain | $1,278,000 | +4,307% |
| 114. | Iran | $1,253,000 | -98.7% |
| 115. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $1,247,000 | -30.3% |
| 116. | Congo | $1,227,000 | -63.3% |
| 117. | Malawi | $1,134,000 | +3,140% |
| 118. | Ivory Coast | $958,000 | -44.7% |
| 119. | Cayman Islands | $924,000 | -91.3% |
| 120. | Mali | $846,000 | -6.8% |
| 121. | Suriname | $683,000 | +138% |
| 122. | North Macedonia | $539,000 | +628.4% |
| 123. | Haiti | $491,000 | -69.4% |
| 124. | Uganda | $459,000 | -72.7% |
| 125. | Kenya | $358,000 | 0% |
| 126. | Luxembourg | $338,000 | -47% |
| 127. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $310,000 | -75.7% |
| 128. | Zimbabwe | $309,000 | +483% |
| 129. | Uruguay | $215,000 | -27.1% |
| 130. | Cyprus | $187,000 | -86.5% |
| 131. | Montenegro | $161,000 | -15.7% |
| 132. | Equatorial Guinea | $153,000 | -62.1% |
| 133. | Curaçao | $102,000 | -15.7% |
| 134. | Mauritania | $88,000 | 0% |
| 135. | Armenia | $84,000 | +29.2% |
| 136. | Aruba | $82,000 | -55.7% |
| 137. | Bahamas | $79,000 | +1,029% |
| 138. | Trinidad/Tobago | $52,000 | -80.8% |
| 139. | Sierra Leone | $51,000 | 0% |
| 140. | Jamaica | $31,000 | 0% |
| 141. | Iceland | $30,000 | -6.3% |
| 142. | Saint Kitts/Nevis | $30,000 | -43.4% |
| 143. | Nicaragua | $27,000 | +2,600% |
| 144. | South Sudan | $22,000 | 0% |
| 145. | Gibraltar | $19,000 | +11.8% |
| 146. | Somalia | $15,000 | -77.3% |
| 147. | Bangladesh | $7,000 | -100% |
| 148. | Papua New Guinea | $4,000 | 0% |
| 149. | Barbados | $2,000 | 0% |
| 150. | Cabo Verde | $2,000 | 0% |
| 151. | Syria | $2,000 | -100% |
| 152. | Faroe Islands | $1,000 | 0% |
| 153. | Fiji | $1,000 | 0% |
| 154. | Saint Helena | $1,000 | 0% |
| 155. | Lesotho | $1,000 | -99.7% |
See also Top Aluminum Exporters by Country, Copper, Top Nickel Exporters by Country and Iron Ore Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 7, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 7, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 7, 2020
Royal Society of Chemistry, Periodic Table: Lead. Accessed on June 7, 2020
Wikipedia, Lead. Accessed on June 7, 2020