From 2020 to 2021, overall iron ore exports accelerated by 54.7%.
The 5 top exporters of iron ore are Australia. Brazil, South Africa, Canada and Ukraine. Collectively, those 5 international suppliers generated 85.6% of worldwide exported iron ore sales.
From a continental perspective, Oceania (mostly Australia) sold the greatest amount of exported iron ore at 53.8% of the global total. In second place was Latin America (19.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean trailed by shippers in Europe (9%), Asia (6.9%), Africa (5.9%) and North America (4.9%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2601 for iron ores and concentrates including roasted iron pyrites.
Iron Ore Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of iron ore during 2021.
- Australia: US$116.6 billion (53.6% of total iron ore exports)
- Brazil: $44.7 billion (20.5%)
- South Africa: $10.2 billion (4.7%)
- Canada: $8.1 billion (3.7%)
- Ukraine: $6.8 billion (3.1%)
- Sweden: $4.7 billion (2.2%)
- India: $4.2 billion (1.9%)
- Russia: $3.8 billion (1.8%)
- China: $3.7 billion (1.7%)
- Chile: $2.4 billion (1.1%)
- Mauritania: $1.79 billion (0.8%)
- Peru: $1.77 billion (0.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $1.73 billion (0.8%)
- United States: $1.31 billion (0.6%)
- Malaysia: $1.26 billion (0.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.8% of global iron ore exports in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing iron ore exporters from 2020 to 2021 were: Kazakhstan (up 160.8%), China (up 125.1%), Russia (up 92.7%) and Mauritania (up 76.2%).
Malaysia posted the mildest increase in its exported iron ore sales thanks to a 7.3% expansion.
Countries Generating Biggest Surpluses Trading Iron
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for iron ore during 2021. 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 iron ore exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$116.5 billion (net export surplus up 48.8% since 2020)
- Brazil: $44.6 billion (up 73.1%)
- South Africa: $10.2 billion (up 66.9%)
- Canada: $7.3 billion (up 42.3%)
- Ukraine: $6.8 billion (up 60.7%)
- Sweden: $4.7 billion (up 53.4%)
- India: $3.8 billion (up 0.6%)
- Russia: $2.6 billion (up 95.2%)
- Chile: $2.3 billion (up 63.1%)
- Mauritania: $1.79 billion (up 76.6%)
- Peru: $1.77 billion (up 64%)
- Kazakhstan: $1.73 billion (up 160.8%)
- Mongolia: $603.7 million (down -5.7%)
- Liberia: $438.4 million (up 11.7%)
- Iran: $397.1 million (up 187.9%)
World-leading iron exporters Australia also generated the highest surplus in the international trade of iron ore. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the country nicknamed The Land Down Under‘s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Deficits Trading Iron
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for iron ore during 2021. 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 iron ore import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$169.9 billion (net export deficit up 44.9% since 2020)
- Japan: -$18 billion (up 86.9%)
- South Korea: -$12.1 billion (up 74.3%)
- Germany: -$6.7 billion (up 86.9%)
- Taiwan: -$4.2 billion (up 91.9%)
- France: -$2.4 billion (up 99.8%)
- Vietnam: -$2 billion (up 34.4%)
- Bahrain: -$1.8 billion (reversing a $22.5 million surplus)
- Turkey: -$1.6 billion (up 87.6%)
- Netherlands: -$1.47 billion (up 80.8%)
- Indonesia: -$1.46 billion (up 149.7%)
- United Kingdom: -$1.38 billion (up 91%)
- Italy: -$1.19 billion (up 107.7%)
- Egypt: -$1.16 billion (up 58.7%)
- Oman: -$1.16 billion (up 288.2%)
The People’s Republic of China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of iron ore. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights China’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for iron ore-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand from the highly industrialized Chinese economy.
Iron Ore Exporting Companies
Below are the world’s largest iron ore conglomerates and major iron ore exporting companies. Show within parenthesis is the country where the company is headquartered.
- Anglo American plc (United Kingdom)
- ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg)
- BHP Billiton (Australia)
- Evraz Group (United Kingdom)
- Fortescue Metals Group (Australia)
- Glencore International (Switzerland)
- Rio Tinto (United Kingdom)
- Severstal (Russia)
- Vale (Brazil)
- Vedanta Resources (United Kingdom)
Searchable List of Iron Ore Exporting Countries in 2021
The 84 countries in the automated database below showcase all iron ore export countries during 2021.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means no 2020 data was available.
| Rank | Exporter | Iron Ore Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | $116,613,055,000 | +48.8% |
| 2. | Brazil | $44,660,652,000 | +73.2% |
| 3. | South Africa | $10,181,444,000 | +66.9% |
| 4. | Canada | $8,061,902,000 | +41.1% |
| 5. | Ukraine | $6,810,644,000 | +60.7% |
| 6. | Sweden | $4,722,070,000 | +53.3% |
| 7. | India | $4,159,252,000 | +7.3% |
| 8. | Russia | $3,811,943,000 | +92.7% |
| 9. | China | $3,660,765,000 | +125.1% |
| 10. | Chile | $2,360,110,000 | +65.8% |
| 11. | Mauritania | $1,789,216,000 | +76.2% |
| 12. | Peru | $1,773,621,000 | +64% |
| 13. | Kazakhstan | $1,729,120,000 | +160.8% |
| 14. | United States | $1,307,070,000 | +55% |
| 15. | Malaysia | $1,259,579,000 | +38.5% |
| 16. | Mongolia | $603,807,000 | -5.7% |
| 17. | Liberia | $438,414,000 | +11.7% |
| 18. | Turkey | $431,451,000 | +126.7% |
| 19. | Iran | $397,218,000 | +188% |
| 20. | Bahrain | $389,986,000 | -51.6% |
| 21. | Venezuela | $384,930,000 | +323.2% |
| 22. | Germany | $294,775,000 | +152.6% |
| 23. | Oman | $246,262,000 | -58.6% |
| 24. | Laos | $226,112,000 | +170.1% |
| 25. | Philippines | $210,830,000 | -57.9% |
| 26. | Norway | $186,414,000 | +46.8% |
| 27. | Sierra Leone | $185,700,000 | 0% |
| 28. | Guinea | $89,839,000 | 0% |
| 29. | Indonesia | $86,699,000 | -11.8% |
| 30. | United Arab Emirates | $74,580,000 | +43261% |
| 31. | Myanmar | $62,132,000 | +10743% |
| 32. | Trinidad/Tobago | $61,058,000 | +9294% |
| 33. | Mexico | $40,107,000 | -18.6% |
| 34. | Thailand | $35,297,000 | +237.7% |
| 35. | Uruguay | $35,257,000 | 0% |
| 36. | Pakistan | $34,926,000 | +73.3% |
| 37. | Vietnam | $29,906,000 | +690.5% |
| 38. | Netherlands | $22,729,000 | +35.7% |
| 39. | Mali | $22,072,000 | +294.2% |
| 40. | South Korea | $17,439,000 | +87.5% |
| 41. | France | $15,941,000 | +24% |
| 42. | Libya | $13,023,000 | -31.3% |
| 43. | Bulgaria | $11,956,000 | +120.4% |
| 44. | Kenya | $11,672,000 | +144.5% |
| 45. | Angola | $9,381,000 | -50.5% |
| 46. | Spain | $7,412,000 | +157.6% |
| 47. | Jordan | $6,460,000 | -65.9% |
| 48. | Slovakia | $6,047,000 | +121.8% |
| 49. | Namibia | $5,966,000 | +39673% |
| 50. | Bolivia | $4,763,000 | +69.6% |
| 51. | Qatar | $4,280,000 | +10874% |
| 52. | Zambia | $3,905,000 | +312.8% |
| 53. | Finland | $3,116,000 | +12.7% |
| 54. | Fiji | $2,771,000 | +40.5% |
| 55. | Zimbabwe | $2,206,000 | +16.1% |
| 56. | Uganda | $1,354,000 | 0% |
| 57. | Belgium | $891,000 | -84.2% |
| 58. | United Kingdom | $715,000 | +16.8% |
| 59. | Morocco | $579,000 | +123.6% |
| 60. | Austria | $523,000 | +3.8% |
| 61. | Saudi Arabia | $424,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Sudan | $291,000 | +57.3% |
| 63. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $284,000 | +10.5% |
| 64. | Switzerland | $223,000 | +1074% |
| 65. | Hong Kong | $215,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Japan | $191,000 | +189.4% |
| 67. | Botswana | $190,000 | 0% |
| 68. | Egypt | $119,000 | -67.8% |
| 69. | Nigeria | $99,000 | +26.9% |
| 70. | Taiwan | $93,000 | +2225% |
| 71. | Italy | $87,000 | -95.8% |
| 72. | Azerbaijan | $82,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Estonia | $11,000 | +37.5% |
| 74. | Albania | $8,000 | -99.9% |
| 75. | Greece | $6,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Israel | $6,000 | 0% |
| 77. | South Sudan | $6,000 | 0% |
| 78. | Tajikistan | $3,000 | 0% |
| 79. | Tanzania | $3,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Gabon | $3,000 | -91.9% |
| 81. | Lithuania | $2,000 | -85.7% |
| 82. | Honduras | $1,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Algeria | $1,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Poland | $1,000 | 0% |
Enlarging the scope to include all iron ore exporters, the fastest growers from 2020 to 2021 were the United Arab Emirates (up 43,261%), Namibia (up 39,673%), Qatar (up 10,874%), Myanmar (up 10,743%), Trinidad and Tobago (up 9,294%), Taiwan (up 2,225%), Switzerland (up 1,074%) and Vietnam (up 690.5%).
See also Iron Ore Imports by Country, Australia’s Top 10 Exports and Australia’s Top Trading Partners Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 3, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 3, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 3, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 3, 2022
Wikipedia, Iron ore mining companies. Accessed on June 3, 2022
