That dollar amount reflects a 107.3% increase for all palladium shippers over the five-year period starting in 2018 when exported palladium was valuated at $14.2 billion.
Year over year, global palladium exports depreciated by -13.8% starting from $34.1 billion for 2021.
Palladium is a silvery-white rare metal used to make vehicle catalytic converters, jewelry, timepieces, electrical contacts, surgical instruments, spark plugs and blood sugar test strips. Like gold, silver and platinum, palladium is also reported as bullion with its own currency codes.
Major Suppliers of Palladium on Global Markets
The top 5 exporters of palladium are Russia, United States of America, South Africa, United Kingdom and Italy. By value, that quintet of leading palladium suppliers dominate almost three-quarters (73.4%) of globally exported palladium during 2022.
From a continental perspective, shippers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of palladium exports during 2022 with shipments valued at $17.3 billion or 58.8% of the global subtotal. In second place were North American exporters at 17.7% ahead of another 15.8% of palladium shipments which originated from Africa.
Tinier percentages came from exporters in Asia (7.6%), Australia and New Zealand in Oceania (0.04%), then sellers located in Latin America (0.03%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
In international trade classifications, there are two major subcategories of platinum. For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 711021 for palladium in either unwrought or powder form. Code prefix 711029 represents semi-manufactured palladium.
Unwrought or powdered palladium is the major form of palladium amounting to 82.3% of global palladium exports during 2022. Semi-manufactured palladium reflects a much smaller portion at 17.7%, down from 18.9% in 2021.
Overall Palladium Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of palladium in all forms during 2022.
- Russia: US$5.3 billion (18.1% of total palladium exports)
- United States: $4.9 billion (16.5%)
- South Africa: $4.6 billion (15.8%)
- United Kingdom: $4.3 billion (14.7%)
- Italy: $2.4 billion (8.2%)
- Germany: $1.7 billion (5.8%)
- Belgium: $1.6 billion (5.5%)
- Switzerland: $1.1 billion (3.8%)
- Hong Kong: $878.3 million (3%)
- Japan: $769 million (2.6%)
- South Korea: $459.1 million (1.6%)
- Norway: $427.2 million (1.45%)
- Canada: $355.9 million (1.21%)
- Austria: $121.2 million (0.41%)
- France: $98.8 million (0.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.1% of all palladium exported in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing palladium exporters since 2018 were: Hong Kong (up 2,290%), South Korea (up 1,959%), Belgium (up 276.2%) and Japan (up 260.5%).
Top 15 Exporters of Raw Palladium
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of unprocessed or powder palladium during 2022.
- Russia: US$5 billion (20.7% of raw palladium exports)
- United States: $3.7 billion (15.4%)
- South Africa: $3.4 billion (14%)
- United Kingdom: $3.36 billion (13.9%)
- Italy: $2.4 billion (9.8%)
- Belgium: $1.6 billion (6.7%)
- Germany: $1.3 billion (5.5%)
- Switzerland: $868.2 million (3.6%)
- Japan: $661.8 million (2.7%)
- Hong Kong: $659.5 million (2.7%)
- South Korea: $441.3 million (1.8%)
- Norway: $425.7 million (1.8%)
- Austria: $101.8 million (0.4%)
- France: $98.8 million (0.4%)
- Netherlands: $41.4 million (0.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.5% of all raw palladium including powdered versions exported in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of raw palladium since 2018 were: South Korea (up 3,713%), Hong Kong (up 2,819%), Austria (up 747.6%) and the Netherlands (up 453.1%).
Top 15 Exporters of Semi-Manufactured Palladium
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of semi-manufactured palladium during 2022.
- South Africa: US$1.24 billion (23.9% of semi-manufactured palladium exports)
- United States: $1.15 billion (22.1%)
- United Kingdom: $974.6 million (18.7%)
- Germany: $369.6 million (7.1%)
- Canada: $353.7 million (6.8%)
- Russia: $316.9 million (6.1%)
- Switzerland: $247.6 million (4.8%)
- Hong Kong: $218.8 million (4.2%)
- Japan: $107.2 million (2.1%)
- Italy: $47.2 million (0.9%)
- Spain: $35 million (0.7%)
- Austria: $19.4 million (0.37%)
- South Korea: $17.8 million (0.34%)
- France: $17.7 million (0.34%)
- Taiwan: $13 million (0.25%)
By value, the listed top 15 countries shipped 98.6% of all semi-manufactured palladium exported in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of semi-manufactured palladium since 2018 were: Russia (up 37,714%), Hong Kong (up 1,445%), Taiwan (up 718%) and South Africa (up 378.2%).
A trio of major suppliers posted declines in their exported semi-manufactured palladium sales, namely: Austria (down -56.6% from 2021), France (down -45.9%) and the United Kingdom (down -9.5%).
Global Palladium Miners
According to MiningFeeds.com, the following mining companies represent established players engaged in the international palladium trade. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.
- Eastern Platinum Limited (Canada)
- Lonmin plc (United Kingdom)
- North American Palladium Ltd (Canada)
- Resource and Investment NL (Australia)
- Solitario Exploration & Royalty (United Kingdom)
- Stillwater Mining Co. (United States)
- Thundelarra Exploration Ltd (Australia)
- Zimplats Holdings Ltd (Australia)
See also Gold Exports by Country, Silver Exports by Country, Platinum Exports by Country and Uranium Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 29, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Mining Feeds, Palladium Mining Companies Listed in All Countries. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Wikipedia, Palladium. Accessed on September 29, 2023
