Unwrought aluminum exported from all countries was worth a total US$91.4 billion in 2022, up by an average 67.2% starting from $54.7 billion five years earlier in 2018.

Year over year, the value of exported raw aluminum accelerated by 22.6% compared to $47.6 billion for 2021.

By value, the 6 biggest exporters (Canada, Russia, United Arab Emirates, India, Malaysia and Bahrain) generated almost half 48.6% of aluminum shipments in 2022.

Spelled aluminium by British writers, aluminum is the world’s most widely used non-iron and non-steel metal and is the basic ingredient for a wide range of recyclable products. The latter includes beverage cans, construction materials and transport vehicles. Silvery-white in color, pure aluminum is non-magnetic and is also notable for its low density, relatively light weight and resistance to corrosion.

Among continents, Asian countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported aluminum during 2022 with shipments valued at $38 billion or 41.6% of the global total. In second place were Europe-based exporters at 35.6% while another 12.3% of worldwide aluminum shipments originated from North America.

Smaller percentages came from Oceania (5.5%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Africa (4%), then Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for raw aluminum is 7601.

Top Aluminum Exporters by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of aluminum during 2022.

1. Canada: US$9.3 billion (10.2% of total aluminum exports)
2. Russia: $8.75 billion (9.6%)
3. United Arab Emirates: $8.64 billion (9.5%)
4. India: $7.1 billion (7.7%)
5. Malaysia: $5.4 billion (5.9%)
6. Bahrain: $5.3 billion (5.8%)
7. Norway: $5.1 billion (5.6%)
8. Australia: $4.1 billion (4.5%)
9. Netherlands: $3.4 billion (3.7%)
10. Iceland: $2.7 billion (2.9%)
11. Qatar: $2.1 billion (2.3%)
12. United States: $1.8 billion (2%)
13. Germany: $1.72 billion (1.9%)
14. Italy: $1.71 billion (1.9%)
15. Mozambique: $1.7 billion (1.9%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 75.3% of global aluminum exported in 2022.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing aluminum exporters since 2021 were: Mozambique (up 147.5%), Bahrain (up 64.6%), Italy (up 55.8%) and the United States of America (up 45.2%).

Posting the most modest gains in exported aluminum sales were suppliers in India (up 1.5% from 2021) and Australia (up 6.8%).

Countries Earning Greatest Surpluses from Global Aluminum Trade

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for aluminum during 2022. 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 aluminum and its import purchases for that same commodity.

1. Russia: US$8.72 billion (net export surplus up 25.8% since 2021)
2. Canada: $8.68 billion (up 13.2%)
3. United Arab Emirates: $8.6 billion (up 36.6%)
4. India: $6.3 billion (down -1.5%)
5. Bahrain: $5.2 billion (up 61.5%)
6. Norway: $4.3 billion (up 30.9%)
7. Australia: $3.9 billion (up 6.6%)
8. Malaysia: $3.7 billion (down -12.9%)
9. Iceland: $2.6 billion (up 35.8%)
10. Qatar: $2.1 billion (up 26.9%)
11. Mozambique: $1.7 billion (up 147.7%)
12. South Africa: $1.1 billion (up 13%)
13. Saudi Arabia: $961.8 million (up 76.4%)
14. Iran: $939.6 million (up 76.3%)
15. New Zealand: $806.8 million (up 0.3%)

Russia, Canada and the UAE generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of aluminum. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the strong competitive advantages for those countries in the international trade for this specific product category.

Countries Incurring Worst Deficits from Global Aluminum Trade

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for aluminum during 2022. 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 aluminum purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

1. United States: -US$13.5 billion (net export deficit up 30% since 2021)
2. Japan: -$7 billion (up 13.6%)
3. Germany: -$6.9 billion (up 37.9%)
4. Türkiye: -$4.5 billion (up 4.2%)
5. South Korea: -$3.6 billion (up 16.2%)
6. Mexico: -$3.6 billion (up 41.3%)
7. China: -$3.5 billion (down -44.1%)
8. Italy: -$3.1 billion (up 32.6%)
9. Thailand: -$1.68 billion (up 1.2%)
10. Poland: -$1.63 billion (up 32.4%)
11. Taiwan: -$1.59 billion (up 18.1%)
12. Spain: -$1.45 billion (up 57.5%)
13. Austria: -$1.09 billion (up 82%)
14. France: -$1.05 billion (up 80.9%)
15. Greece: -$921.5 million (up 27.8%)

The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of aluminum during 2022, with American imports of the silvery metal far outpacing its exports.

These negative cashflows highlight America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category and conversely signals opportunities for aluminum-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.

Major Aluminum Exporting Companies

Below are global aluminum-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of aluminum. The home country for each selected aluminum producer or rolling company is shown within parenthesis.

• Alcoa (United States)
• Alumina Limited (Australia)
• Chalco (China)
• Emirates Global Aluminium (United Arab Emirates)
• Hindalco Industries (India)
• Norsk Hydro ASA (Norway)
• United Company RUSAL (Russia)

 

Searchable List of Aluminum Exporting Countries in 2022

The 100 key exporters of aluminum in the automated database below represent 99.99% of the value for all aluminum exported during 2022.

Rank	Exporter	Aluminum Exports	2021-2
1.	Canada	$9,299,657,000	+14.6%
2.	Russia	$8,750,353,000	+25.1%
3.	United Arab Emirates	$8,641,718,000	+34.8%
4.	India	$7,079,709,000	+1.5%
5.	Malaysia	$5,366,541,000	+0%
6.	Bahrain	$5,308,634,000	+64.6%
7.	Norway	$5,075,778,000	+25.9%
8.	Australia	$4,134,042,000	+6.8%
9.	Netherlands	$3,403,015,000	+25.4%
10.	Iceland	$2,658,205,000	+35.2%
11.	Qatar	$2,097,620,000	+26.9%
12.	United States	$1,827,929,000	+45.2%
13.	Germany	$1,723,312,000	+26.6%
14.	Italy	$1,712,220,000	+55.8%
15.	Mozambique	$1,700,286,000	+147.5%
16.	Saudi Arabia	$1,364,939,000	+48.7%
17.	China	$1,312,762,000	+214.9%
18.	South Africa	$1,173,638,000	+12.1%
19.	Sweden	$1,049,796,000	+22.1%
20.	Spain	$977,046,000	-9.3%
21.	Iran	$941,768,000	+39.2%
22.	South Korea	$902,028,000	-2.8%
23.	France	$888,027,000	+1.6%
24.	Vietnam	$866,332,000	+19.3%
25.	United Kingdom	$862,964,000	+29.2%
26.	New Zealand	$856,923,000	+3.4%
27.	Poland	$747,975,000	+13.5%
28.	Türkiye	$729,176,000	+61.3%
29.	Kazakhstan	$717,477,000	+5.2%
30.	Oman	$673,459,000	+27.2%
31.	Brazil	$644,952,000	+18.6%
32.	Austria	$590,928,000	+42%
33.	Bosnia/Herzegovina	$476,015,000	+80.3%
34.	Greece	$450,315,000	+33.3%
35.	Romania	$449,038,000	+29.3%
36.	Luxembourg	$439,331,000	+27.2%
37.	Singapore	$405,605,000	-25.4%
38.	Indonesia	$361,190,000	+19.1%
39.	Slovakia	$360,661,000	-17.6%
40.	Venezuela	$352,241,000	+217.1%
41.	Czech Republic	$320,043,000	+11.8%
42.	Slovenia	$318,105,000	-9.8%
43.	Thailand	$296,795,000	+0.6%
44.	Taiwan	$288,317,000	-34.9%
45.	Nigeria	$255,769,000	+39.2%
46.	Belgium	$252,356,000	+5.7%
47.	Switzerland	$241,467,000	+19.5%
48.	Hungary	$222,984,000	+26.2%
49.	Egypt	$216,474,000	-31.1%
50.	Montenegro	$179,570,000	+120.6%
51.	Ghana	$170,362,000	+59.8%
52.	Tajikistan	$152,922,000	+13.1%
53.	Azerbaijan	$126,598,000	+67.7%
54.	Cameroon	$95,934,000	+39.1%
55.	Denmark	$87,579,000	+1179%
56.	Pakistan	$85,741,000	+11%
57.	Japan	$81,584,000	-14.7%
58.	Mexico	$74,535,000	+47.9%
59.	Finland	$61,125,000	+14.1%
60.	Bulgaria	$48,382,000	+195.8%
61.	Portugal	$46,815,000	-19.2%
62.	Ukraine	$44,651,000	-39.7%
63.	Myanmar	$31,491,000	-9.6%
64.	Hong Kong	$29,470,000	+36.4%
65.	Bangladesh	$26,427,000	+47.8%
66.	Iraq	$24,124,000	-53.5%
67.	Serbia	$20,922,000	-5.5%
68.	Cambodia	$20,417,000	-9%
69.	Ireland	$18,667,000	+20.6%
70.	Philippines	$15,665,000	+233.9%
71.	Morocco	$15,445,000	+0.4%
72.	Georgia	$14,223,000	-10.8%
73.	Armenia	$14,164,000	+1.5%
74.	Estonia	$11,957,000	-10.5%
75.	Turkmenistan	$11,923,000	+8.7%
76.	Tanzania	$11,021,000	+4.7%
77.	Latvia	$9,348,000	+22.3%
78.	Uzbekistan	$9,212,000	-36.6%
79.	Jordan	$7,070,000	-28.1%
80.	Croatia	$6,896,000	+80.8%
81.	Kyrgyzstan	$6,193,000	-32.5%
82.	Syria	$5,959,000	-13%
83.	Sudan	$5,588,000	+136.1%
84.	Tunisia	$5,004,000	-58.8%
85.	Gabon	$4,029,000	+211.1%
86.	Zambia	$3,262,000	+111.4%
87.	Guinea	$2,397,000	+239600%
88.	Colombia	$2,387,000	-1.9%
89.	Kuwait	$2,059,000	+256.8%
90.	Congo	$1,906,000	+976.8%
91.	Laos	$1,821,000	+997%
92.	Libya	$1,694,000	-59.9%
93.	Algeria	$1,687,000	0%
94.	Chile	$853,000	+21.9%
95.	Senegal	$754,000	+359.8%
96.	Lithuania	$725,000	+696.7%
97.	New Caledonia	$698,000	-19.9%
98.	Rwanda	$605,000	+50.9%
99.	Belarus	$544,000	-98.6%
100.	Malawi	$524,000	+488.8%

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above.

An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2021 data is available.

Biggest Exporters of Aluminum by Shipment Weight

In 2022, the following 20 countries exported 83.2% of globally exported raw aluminum by shipment weight.

Listed below are the main exporters of aluminum ranked by volume of the silvery product shipped during 2022.

Note that metrics for aluminum exports from the Russian Federation were not available at time of article publication.

1. Canada: 2,708,741 tons of aluminum (down -2.4% from 2021)
2. India: 2,445,921 tons (down -8.3%)
3. Malaysia: 2,059,486 tons (down -9.2%)
4. Bahrain: 1,691,942 tons (up 44.2%)
5. Australia: 1,476,194 tons (down -5.3%)
6. Norway: 1,397,697 tons (down -2.6%)
7. Netherlands: 1,007,719 tons (up 2.7%)
8. Mozambique: 936,855 tons (up 169.3%)
9. Iceland: 756,030 tons (up 3.6%)
10. South Africa: 589,531 tons (up 11.1%)
11. United States: 543,288 tons (up 19.1%)
12. Germany: 518,230 tons (up 2.4%)
13. Italy: 517,566 tons (up 21.2%)
14. Saudi Arabia: 458,768 tons (up 74.5%)
15. China: 421,130 tons (up 166.8%)
16. Iran: 334,039 tons (up 20.9%)
17. Spain: 306,543 tons (2021 data unavailable)
18. New Zealand: 304,184 tons (down -1.8%)
19. South Korea: 298,135 tons (down -16.8%)
20. Sweden: 292,478 tons (down -5.3%)

The fastest-growing top exporters of aluminum were Mozambique (up 169.3% from 2021), mainland China (up 166.8%), Saudi Arabia (up 74.5%), Bahrain (up 44.2%), then Italy (up 21.2%).

The severest decliners in terms of volume shipped were South Korea (down -16.8% from 2021), Malaysia (down -9.2%), then India (down -8.3%).

Average Prices for Top Aluminum Exporters

The worldwide average price for aluminum exported during 2022 was an estimated $3,061 per ton.

That average unit price reflects a flatlining 1.4% inflation rate compared to $3,020 per ton in 2021.

Below are the average unit prices per ton of exported aluminum for each of the top 20 shippers of aluminum during 2022. Note that statistics for the Russian Federation were not available at time of article publication.

Entries are listed in descending order starting with countries that exported the greatest volumes of aluminum by tonnage (excluding Russia).

1. Canada: US$3,433 per ton of raw aluminum (up 17.5% from 2021)
2. India: $2,894 per ton (up 10.8%)
3. Malaysia: $2,606 per ton (up 10.1%)
4. Bahrain: $3,138 per ton (up 14.2%)
5. Australia: $2,800 per ton (up 12.8%)
6. Norway: $3,632 per ton (up 29.3%)
7. Netherlands: $3,377 per ton (up 22.2%)
8. Mozambique: $1,815 per ton (down -8.1%)
9. Iceland: $3,516 per ton (up 30.5%)
10. South Africa: $1,991 per ton (up 0.9%)
11. United States of America: $3,365 per ton (up 21.9%)
12. Germany: $3,325 per ton (up 23.6%)
13. Italy: $3,308 per ton (up 28.6%)
14. Saudi Arabia: $2,975 per ton (down -14.8%)
15. China: $3,117 per ton (up 18%)
16. Iran: $2,819 per ton (up 15.2%)
17. Spain: $3,187 per ton (down -86.3%)
18. New Zealand: $2,817 per ton (up 5.2%)
19. South Korea: $3,026 per ton (up 16.7%)
20. Sweden: $3,589 per ton (up 28.9%)

The lowest average unit prices per ton were for aluminum exported from Mozambique and South Africa.

The highest average prices were paid to aluminum suppliers located in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Canada and the Netherlands.

The greatest inflation rates are attributed to the average unit prices for aluminum exports from Iceland (up 30.5% from 2021), Norway (up 29.3%), Sweden (up 28.9%), Italy (up 28.6%) and Germany (up 23.6%).

See also Iron Ore Exports by Country, Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country and US Aluminum Imports by Supplying Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Wikipedia, Aluminium. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Wikipedia, Category:Aluminum companies by country. Accessed on July 24, 2023