Global sales for chemical exports by country totaled US$647.6 billion in 2021. The overall dollar value of exported chemicals rose by an average 30.3% for all exporting countries since 2017 when chemical shipments were valued at $497.2 billion.

Year over year, the combined total comprising exported organic and inorganic chemicals surged by 28.4% compared to $504.4 billion for 2020.

The world’s 5 biggest exporters of organic and inorganic chemicals combined are mainland China, United States of America, Germany, Ireland and Belgium. Collectively, these leading countries generated 43.1% of all international sales of exported chemicals during 2021.

The primary difference between organic and inorganic chemicals is technical. Specifically, a carbon atom is a must-have component of organic chemicals whereas inorganic chemicals contain no carbon atoms.

Exported organic chemicals were valued at $490.3 billion during 2021 (75.7% of the global total) while worldwide shipments of inorganic chemicals raked in much less cash from global customers at $157.4 billion (24.3%).

For research purposes, the respective 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefixes are 28 for inorganic chemicals and 29 for organic chemicals.

Chemical Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of chemicals during 2021 encompassing both organic and inorganic chemicals:

1. China: US$106.2 billion (16.4% of total exported chemicals)
2. United States: $56.4 billion (8.7%)
3. Germany: $44.6 billion (6.9%)
4. Ireland: $38 billion (5.9%)
5. Belgium: $34 billion (5.2%)
6. South Korea: $31.3 billion (4.8%)
7. Switzerland: $30.5 billion (4.7%)
8. Netherlands: $27.9 billion (4.3%)
9. Japan: $27.7 billion (4.3%)
10. India: $23.6 billion (3.6%)
11. France: $18 billion (2.8%)
12. Saudi Arabia: $16.3 billion (2.5%)
13. United Kingdom: $15.7 billion (2.4%)
14. Singapore: $14.5 billion (2.2%)
15. Taiwan: $13.8 billion (2.1%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped over three-quarters (77%) of globally exported chemicals in 2021.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing chemicals exporters since 2017 were: mainland China (up 64%), Saudi Arabia (up 55.8%), India (up 55.4%) and Ireland (up 54.4%).

Singapore was the lone top supplier to post a decline in its export sales of chemicals, weighed down by a -9.3% reduction over the 5-year timespan.

Exports of Organic Chemicals

The following list showcases the top 15 exporters of organic chemicals in 2021.

1. China: US$82.6 billion (16.8% of exported organic chemicals)
2. United States: $42.9 billion (8.7%)
3. Ireland: $37 billion (7.5%)
4. Germany: $30.1 billion (6.1%)
5. Belgium: $29.8 billion (6.1%)
6. Switzerland: $29.7 billion (6.1%)
7. South Korea: $23.5 billion (4.8%)
8. Netherlands: $22.5 billion (4.6%)
9. India: $21.2 billion (4.3%)
10. Japan: $18.3 billion (3.7%)
11. Saudi Arabia: $14.3 billion (2.9%)
12. France: $14.2 billion (2.9%)
13. Singapore: $13.8 billion (2.8%)
14. Taiwan: $11.83 billion (2.4%)
15. United Kingdom: $11.8 billion (2.4%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 82.3% of globally exported organic chemicals in 2021.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of organic chemicals since 2017 were: mainland China (up 66.1%), Taiwan (up 64.3%), South Korea (up 52.8%) and the Netherlands (up 51.2%).

A pair of main suppliers posted declines in their sales of exported organic chemicals namely the United Kingdom (down -9.9%) and Ireland (down -8.9%).

Exports of Inorganic Chemicals

The following list highlights the leading 15 exporters of inorganic chemicals in 2021.

1. China: US$23.6 billion (15% of exported inorganic chemicals)
2. Germany: $14.5 billion (9.2%)
3. United States: $13.5 billion (8.6%)
4. Japan: $9.4 billion (6%)
5. South Korea: $7.8 billion (4.9%)
6. Australia: $6.4 billion (4.1%)
7. Netherlands: $5.4 billion (3.4%)
8. Brazil: $4.3 billion (2.7%)
9. Belgium: $4.2 billion (2.7%)
10. Canada: $4.1 billion (2.6%)
11. Russia: $3.97 billion (2.5%)
12. United Kingdom: $3.89 billion (2.5%)
13. France: $3.86 billion (2.5%)
14. India: $2.41 billion (1.5%)
15. Chile: $2.39 billion (1.5%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 69.8% of globally exported inorganic chemicals in 2021.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of inorganic chemicals since 2017 were: mainland China (up 57.1%), India (up 49.5%), Russia (up 48.6%) then South Korea (up 47.3%).

The top country that posted the most modest in their sales of exported inorganic chemicals was Chile via a still-respectable 18.3% gain since 2017.

Major Chemicals Companies

According to Chemical & Engineering News, the following companies are major players in global chemical sales. The entries are listed in alphabetical order.

1. BASF (Germany)
2. Bayer (Germany)
3. Dow Chemical (United States)
4. DuPont (United States)
5. ExxonMobil (United States)
6. Formosa Plastics (Taiwan)
7. Ineos (Switzerland)
8. LyondellBasell Industries (United States)
9. SABIC (Saudi Arabia)
10. Sinopec (China)

 

See also Lithium Ion Batteries Exports by Country, Uranium Exports by Country, Top Importers of Laptop Computers Ranked by Dollar Value, Gold Exports by Country Plus Average Prices and Silver Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 15, 2022

Chemical & Engineering News, Volume 93 Issue 30, pp. 14-26. Accessed on August 15, 2022

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 15, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 15, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 15, 2022