The value of overall platinum exports spiked by an average 235.9% for all exporting countries since 2017 when platinum shipments were valued at $26.9 billion.
Year over year, the value of globally exported platinum increased by 42.2%.
The 5 biggest exporters of platinum are the South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia and Germany. Collectively, that leading handful of top platinum sellers on international markets accounted for almost three-quarters (73.4%) of the world’s platinum exported during 2021.
Among continents, suppliers in European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported platinum during 2021 with shipments valued at $45.6 billion or 50.4% of the global total. In second place were fast-growing African exporters at 25.7% while 15.2% of worldwide platinum shipments originated from North America. Another 8.6% worth came from Asia.
Tinier percentages arrived from Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania (0.02%) New Zealand and Australia only.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for unwrought or semi-manufactured platinum is 7110. Also included in that code prefix are palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium.
Platinum Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of platinum during 2021.
- South Africa: US$23.2 billion (25.6% of total platinum exports)
- United Kingdom: $13.6 billion (15%)
- United States: $13.2 billion (14.6%)
- Russia: $8.5 billion (9.4%)
- Germany: $8 billion (8.8%)
- Belgium: $6 billion (6.6%)
- Italy: $5.6 billion (6.1%)
- Hong Kong: $3.3 billion (3.6%)
- Switzerland: $2.4 billion (2.6%)
- Japan: $1.8 billion (2%)
- South Korea: $1.3 billion (1.5%)
- Norway: $680.9 million (0.8%)
- Taiwan: $581.8 million (0.6%)
- Canada: $526.5 million (0.6%)
- Singapore: $342.3 million (0.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.2% of globally exported platinum in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of platinum since 2020 were: South Korea (up 186%), South Africa (up 116.3%), Taiwan (up 84.1%) and Belgium (up 47.4%).
Two top countries posted declines in their international sales of platinum, namely Switzerland (down -3.9%) and Singapore (down -2.1%).
Countries Generating Best Surpluses Trading Platinum
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for platinum 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 exported platinum and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- South Africa: US$23 billion (net export surplus up 117.5% since 2020)
- Russia: $8.4 billion (up 7.6%)
- Belgium: $5.1 billion (up 35.6%)
- United Kingdom: $1.8 billion (down -20.5%)
- Italy: $1.3 billion (up 27.7%)
- Norway: $639.1 million (up 12.1%)
- Uzbekistan: $198.3 million (up 2806.5%)
- Taiwan: $146 million (up 337.3%)
- Netherlands: $113.4 million (up 964.6%)
- Turkey: $60.1 million (up 69.7%)
- Botswana: $39.3 million (reversing an -$11,000 deficit)
- Ukraine: $21.6 million (down -725.7%)
- Colombia: $20.9 million (up 51.9%)
- Costa Rica: $16.2 million (down -32.5%)
- Myanmar: $14.1 million (2020 data unavailable)
South Africa generated the highest surplus in the international trade of platinum. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms South Africa’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Deficits Trading Platinum
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for platinum 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 imported platinum purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Japan: -US$9.6 billion (net export deficit up 77.9% since 2020)
- mainland China: -$9 billion (up 17.6%)
- United States of America: -$5.2 billion (up 240%)
- Hong Kong: -$3.7 billion (up 8.7%)
- Germany: -$3.6 billion (up 196.8%)
- Canada: -$1.66 billion (up 104.2%)
- South Korea: -$1.65 billion (up 22.9%)
- North Macedonia: -$1.4 billion (up 23.9%)
- Poland: -$1.2 billion (up 120.1%)
- Brazil: -$824.1 million (up 35.6%)
- Switzerland: -$798.6 million (up 21.5%)
- India: -$468 million (down -6.5%)
- Ireland: -$317.3 million (up 138.3%)
- Argentina: -$133.4 million (up 43%)
- France: -$95.5 million (up 133.7%)
Two Asian competitors, Japan and mainland China, incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of platinum. In turn, their negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for platinum-supplying countries that help satisfy the demand.
Platinum Exporting Companies
Below are global platinum miners that represent established players engaged in the international platinum trade. The home country for each platinum producer is shown within parenthesis.
- Anglo American Platinum Limited (South Africa)
- Aquarius Platinum (Bermuda)
- ARM African Rainbow Minerals (South Africa)
- Impala Platinum (South Africa)
- Lonmin plc (United Kingdom)
- Nornickel (Russia)
- North American Palladium (Canada)
- Northam Platinum (South Africa)
- Stillwater Mining Company (United States)
- Wesizwe Platinum (South Africa)
Searchable List of Platinum Exporting Countries in 2021
The 71 export countries in the following automated database showcases 100% of the value of platinum exported in 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Platinum Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa | $23,160,163,000 | +116.3% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | $13,609,160,000 | +17.2% |
| 3. | United States | $13,179,181,000 | +34.9% |
| 4. | Russia | $8,458,422,000 | +7.9% |
| 5. | Germany | $7,990,791,000 | +39.5% |
| 6. | Belgium | $5,959,182,000 | +47.4% |
| 7. | Italy | $5,558,272,000 | +47.1% |
| 8. | Hong Kong | $3,288,850,000 | +26.6% |
| 9. | Switzerland | $2,363,822,000 | -3.9% |
| 10. | Japan | $1,806,248,000 | +13.9% |
| 11. | South Korea | $1,326,262,000 | +186% |
| 12. | Norway | $680,944,000 | +12.8% |
| 13. | Taiwan | $581,806,000 | +84.1% |
| 14. | Canada | $526,542,000 | +12.2% |
| 15. | Singapore | $342,324,000 | -2.1% |
| 16. | Austria | $257,380,000 | +13% |
| 17. | Uzbekistan | $198,287,000 | +2809% |
| 18. | Netherlands | $191,720,000 | +390.3% |
| 19. | France | $179,825,000 | +44% |
| 20. | Spain | $126,729,000 | +90.5% |
| 21. | India | $89,507,000 | +359.3% |
| 22. | Poland | $75,582,000 | +69.3% |
| 23. | Turkey | $69,230,000 | +66.5% |
| 24. | Czech Republic | $62,338,000 | +90.4% |
| 25. | Dominican Republic | $44,015,000 | +87.2% |
| 26. | Botswana | $39,279,000 | 0% |
| 27. | Costa Rica | $35,505,000 | +15.2% |
| 28. | Ukraine | $27,599,000 | +873.2% |
| 29. | Colombia | $21,151,000 | +49.6% |
| 30. | Ireland | $18,722,000 | +493.2% |
| 31. | United Arab Emirates | $18,547,000 | +42.6% |
| 32. | Australia | $14,542,000 | +154.3% |
| 33. | Myanmar | $14,144,000 | 0% |
| 34. | Thailand | $14,008,000 | -41.4% |
| 35. | Hungary | $13,417,000 | +42.4% |
| 36. | China | $13,096,000 | -95.4% |
| 37. | Malaysia | $11,838,000 | +629.4% |
| 38. | Serbia | $11,789,000 | +65.6% |
| 39. | Finland | $8,372,000 | -90.2% |
| 40. | Chile | $6,795,000 | +61.1% |
| 41. | Slovakia | $6,507,000 | -61.7% |
| 42. | Greece | $4,798,000 | +861.5% |
| 43. | Sweden | $3,776,000 | +42.9% |
| 44. | Brazil | $3,674,000 | -56.8% |
| 45. | New Zealand | $3,475,000 | +15.8% |
| 46. | Mexico | $3,316,000 | 0% |
| 47. | Vietnam | $1,792,000 | +1136% |
| 48. | Lebanon | $1,389,000 | +56.4% |
| 49. | Iran | $1,222,000 | 0% |
| 50. | Egypt | $1,204,000 | +144.2% |
| 51. | Israel | $1,095,000 | +660.4% |
| 52. | Denmark | $1,020,000 | -56.9% |
| 53. | Luxembourg | $465,000 | +140.9% |
| 54. | Peru | $347,000 | -9.9% |
| 55. | Portugal | $346,000 | -25.3% |
| 56. | Slovenia | $280,000 | +10.7% |
| 57. | Indonesia | $258,000 | 0% |
| 58. | Jamaica | $241,000 | 0% |
| 59. | Croatia | $116,000 | +329.6% |
| 60. | Bulgaria | $116,000 | +19.6% |
| 61. | Kuwait | $93,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Philippines | $70,000 | -65.5% |
| 63. | Armenia | $58,000 | 0% |
| 64. | Estonia | $34,000 | +161.5% |
| 65. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $28,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Uruguay | $23,000 | +187.5% |
| 67. | Panama | $21,000 | 0% |
| 68. | Sri Lanka | $6,000 | +500% |
| 69. | Palestine | $1,000 | 0% |
| 70. | Rwanda | $1,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Eswatini | $1,000 | 0% |
Expanding our scope to include all platinum exporters, the fastest growers from 2020 to 2021 were Uzbekistan (up 2,807%), Vietnam (up 1,136%), Ukraine (up 873.2%), Greece (up 861.5%) then Israel (up 660.4%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Gold Exports by Country, Silver Exports by Country, Palladium Exports by Country and Jewelry Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 19, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 19, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 19, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 19, 2022
Wikipedia, Category:Platinum mining companies. Accessed on June 19, 2022
