That dollar amount results from a 67.2% acceleration compared to five years earlier in 2020 when stainless steel exports were worth $2.76 billion.
From 2023 to 2024, the value of globally exported stainless steel slipped by -11.5% starting from $5.22 billion.
The 5 biggest exporters of stainless steel in 2024 are Indonesia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Austria. That powerful cohort generated 83.8% of exported stainless steel by value.
Among continents, exporters in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exported stainless steel during 2024 with shipments valued at $2.5 billion or more than half (53.9%) of world exports for that commodity. In second place were exporters based in Europe via a 42.1% share.
Smaller percentages came from providers in North America (3.6%), Oceania (0.24%) mostly Australia, Africa (0.09%), then Latin America (0.06%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 7218 for stainless steel in primary forms including ingots.
Stainless Steel Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of stainless steel during 2024.
- Indonesia: US$2.4 billion (51.3% of total stainless steel exports)
- United Kingdom: $861.5 million (18.7%)
- Sweden: $308 million (6.7%)
- Italy: $197 million (4.3%)
- Austria: $132.9 million (2.9%)
- Germany: $112.1 million (2.4%)
- Spain: $90.7 million (2%)
- United States: $90.7 million (2%)
- Belgium: $82.5 million (1.8%)
- France: $59.9 million (1.3%)
- Canada: $46.7 million (1%)
- Taiwan: $35.8 million (0.8%)
- India: $32.6 million (0.7%)
- Mexico: $28.9 million (0.6%)
- Netherlands: $20.3 million (0.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.8% of global stainless steel exported in 2024.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing stainless steel exporters from 2023 to 2024 were: Mexico (up 11,332%), United Kingdom (up 9.9%), United States of America (up 4.9%), and Italy (up 4.4%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported stainless steel sales were led by: Taiwan (down -33.5% from 2023), Canada (down -31.5%), Netherlands (down -29.3%), Belgium (down -28.1%) and Spain (down -27.4%).
Searchable List of Stainless Steel Exporting Countries in 2024
As listed below, the 84 suppliers of stainless steel exporting to worldwide markets generated all international sales in 2024.
| Rank | Exporter | Stainless Steel Exports | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $2,369,747,000 | -16.8% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | $861,523,000 | +9.9% |
| 3. | Sweden | $307,972,000 | -8.2% |
| 4. | Italy | $196,997,000 | +4.4% |
| 5. | Austria | $132,909,000 | +2.3% |
| 6. | Germany | $112,118,000 | -5.8% |
| 7. | Spain | $90,658,000 | -27.4% |
| 8. | United States | $90,657,000 | +4.9% |
| 9. | Belgium | $82,459,000 | -28.1% |
| 10. | France | $59,872,000 | -15% |
| 11. | Canada | $46,685,000 | -31.5% |
| 12. | Taiwan | $35,759,000 | -33.5% |
| 13. | India | $32,570,000 | -12.1% |
| 14. | Mexico | $28,922,000 | +11332% |
| 15. | Netherlands | $20,250,000 | -29.3% |
| 16. | Portugal | $17,481,000 | +26.8% |
| 17. | Denmark | $16,503,000 | +0.8% |
| 18. | Vietnam | $13,358,000 | +84.7% |
| 19. | South Korea | $11,825,000 | -84.1% |
| 20. | Australia | $10,927,000 | +67.5% |
| 21. | Finland | $9,390,000 | -43.8% |
| 22. | Czech Republic | $9,263,000 | -21.8% |
| 23. | Japan | $8,513,000 | -26.9% |
| 24. | Slovenia | $7,937,000 | -29.6% |
| 25. | Hungary | $4,741,000 | +5.1% |
| 26. | Singapore | $4,446,000 | +16.3% |
| 27. | Russia | $3,721,000 | +13.4% |
| 28. | Slovakia | $2,999,000 | -24.1% |
| 29. | Iran | $2,796,000 | +96.9% |
| 30. | Brazil | $2,258,000 | +150.6% |
| 31. | Azerbaijan | $2,103,000 | -21.5% |
| 32. | Zambia | $2,065,000 | +312.2% |
| 33. | Poland | $1,693,000 | -69.5% |
| 34. | Hong Kong | $1,578,000 | +791.5% |
| 35. | Türkiye | $1,441,000 | -49.7% |
| 36. | United Arab Emirates | $1,428,000 | -80.7% |
| 37. | Norway | $1,332,000 | +43.8% |
| 38. | Croatia | $1,267,000 | +10.3% |
| 39. | South Africa | $974,000 | -64% |
| 40. | Malaysia | $942,000 | -14.5% |
| 41. | Kazakhstan | $828,000 | -42.9% |
| 42. | Switzerland | $744,000 | -41.6% |
| 43. | Philippines | $515,000 | +117.3% |
| 44. | Ireland | $509,000 | +66.9% |
| 45. | Thailand | $483,000 | -34.6% |
| 46. | Nigeria | $481,000 | +14.3% |
| 47. | Kyrgyzstan | $442,000 | 0% |
| 48. | Angola | $398,000 | 0% |
| 49. | Luxembourg | $338,000 | -72.5% |
| 50. | China | $333,000 | -73.9% |
| 51. | Latvia | $290,000 | -75.7% |
| 52. | New Zealand | $275,000 | +227.4% |
| 53. | Greece | $267,000 | +122.5% |
| 54. | Saudi Arabia | $260,000 | -30.9% |
| 55. | Estonia | $235,000 | -24.2% |
| 56. | Colombia | $221,000 | +1600% |
| 57. | Lithuania | $213,000 | +826.1% |
| 58. | Serbia | $121,000 | -94.3% |
| 59. | Morocco | $116,000 | 0% |
| 60. | Tanzania | $106,000 | +51.4% |
| 61. | Algeria | $92,000 | -74.7% |
| 62. | Tunisia | $79,000 | +1029% |
| 63. | Israel | $77,000 | +7600% |
| 64. | Armenia | $53,000 | 0% |
| 65. | Trinidad/Tobago | $50,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Pakistan | $47,000 | +327.3% |
| 67. | Kenya | $42,000 | 0% |
| 68. | Ukraine | $37,000 | -95.6% |
| 69. | Bangladesh | $28,000 | 0% |
| 70. | Panama | $27,000 | +170% |
| 71. | Guatemala | $23,000 | +2200% |
| 72. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $22,000 | +266.7% |
| 73. | Costa Rica | $18,000 | +80% |
| 74. | Romania | $16,000 | -89.9% |
| 75. | Bulgaria | $7,000 | +40% |
| 76. | Bahrain | $4,000 | +300% |
| 77. | Sri Lanka | $2,000 | -91.7% |
| 78. | French South/Antarctic Terr | $2,000 | 0% |
| 79. | Equatorial Guinea | $2,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Malta | $2,000 | +100% |
| 81. | Namibia | $2,000 | 0% |
| 82. | Qatar | $1,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Uzbekistan | $1,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Iceland | $1,000 | 0% |
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 2023 data was unavailable.
The fastest-growing exporters of stainless steel are Mexico (up 11,332% from 2023), Israel (up 7,600%), Guatemala (up 2,200%), Colombia (up 1,600%) then Tunisia (up 1,029%).
Main Exporters of Stainless Steel Ranked by Shipment Weight
In 2024, the overall volume for worldwide shipments of stainless steel totaled 2.057 million tons. That physical tonnage is 41.6% higher than 5 years earlier in 2020 but flatlining to a -1.3% drop compared to 2.084 million tons one year earlier in 2023.
The following 15 countries were responsible for 98.3% of the total shipment weight for stainless steel.
- Indonesia: 1,441,227 tons of exported stainless steel (down -2.3% from 2023)
- United Kingdom: 292,914 tons (up 23.1%)
- Sweden: 75,244 tons (up 13.3%)
- Italy: 44,165 tons (up 15.7%)
- Germany: 29,543 tons (down -14.2%)
- Austria: 23,382 tons (up 13.7%)
- Belgium: 18,644 tons (down -23.1%)
- France: 16,713 tons (up 0.4%)
- Canada: 13,812 tons (down -24.7%)
- United States: 13,409 tons (up 17.7%)
- Spain: 13,071 tons (down -17.3%)
- India: 13,019 tons (up 6.8%)
- Netherlands: 10,676 tons (down -62.1%)
- Vietnam: 8,756 tons (up 410.6%)
- Taiwan: 6,958 tons (down -38.8%)
Posting the strongest growth in quantities of stainless steel exported from 2023 to 2024 were suppliers in the Vietnam (up 410.6%), United Kingdom (23.1%), United States (up 17.7%), Italy (up 15.7%), Austria (up 13.7%) and Sweden (up 13.3%).
Average Unit Prices for Top Stainless Steel Exporters
For 2024, the worldwide average unit price for exported stainless steel was $2,245 per ton.
The global average price in 2024 is 18% greater than the $1,902 unit price for 2020. Year over year, the dollar rate for stainless steel exports fell by -10.3% compared to $2,503 per ton in 2023.
The following list itemizes the average unit prices for stainless steel exported by the top 15 international suppliers of stainless steel sorted by total shipment value.
Also shown is the change in average unit prices per exporting country from 2023 to 2024.
- Indonesia: US$1,644 per ton of stainless steel (down -14.9% from 2023)
- United Kingdom: $2,941 per ton (down -10.7%)
- Sweden: $4,093 per ton (down -19%)
- Italy: $4,460 per ton (down -9.8%)
- Austria: $5,684 per ton (down -10%)
- Germany: $3,795 per ton (up 9.8%)
- Spain: $6,936 per ton (down -12.2%)
- United States: $6,761 per ton (down -10.9%)
- Belgium: $4,423 per ton (down -6.5%)
- France: $3,582 per ton (down -15.4%)
- Canada: $3,380 per ton (down -9%)
- Taiwan: $5,139 per ton (up 8.6%)
- India: $2,502 per ton (down -17.7%)
- Mexico: $6,107 per ton (2023 data unavailable)
- Netherlands: $1,897 per ton (up 86.3%)
The highest average prices were charged by stainless steel exporters in the Spain, United States of America, Mexico, Austria and Taiwan.
Countries Generating Biggest Surpluses Trading Stainless Steel
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for stainless steel during 2024. 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 stainless steel and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: US$2.4 billion (down -16.7% from 2023)
- United Kingdom: $808.3 million (up 9%)
- Austria: $55.4 million (up 158.8%)
- Canada: $27.5 million (down -38.4%)
- Mexico: $19.9 million (reversing a -$5.2 million deficit)
- Spain: $14 million (down -82.1%)
- Germany: $13.6 million (reversing a -$33.6 million deficit)
- Denmark: $12.8 million (up 5.5%)
- Australia: $10.4 million (up 75.3%)
- Finland: $7.5 million (up 104.6%)
- Slovenia: $6.2 million (down -36.1%)
- Iran: $2.7 million (up 114.8%)
- Japan: $2.3 million (down -51.3%)
- Netherlands: $2.2 million (down -80.2%)
- Azerbaijan: $2.1 million (down -22.6%)
World-leading supplier Indonesia earned the highest surplus in the international trade of stainless steel. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Indonesia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Posting Worst Deficits Trading Stainless Steel
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for stainless steel during 2024. 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 stainless steel purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- India: -US$1.1 billion (down -17.9% from 2023)
- mainland China: -$916.8 million (down -26.4%)
- Taiwan: -$540.4 million (up 47.6%)
- Belgium: -$426.1 million (up 24.3%)
- United States: -$167.5 million (down -22.5%)
- France: -$121.3 million (down -8.5%)
- Italy: -$85.3 million (reversing a $98.5 million surplus)
- Portugal: -$44 million (down -9.9%)
- Ukraine: -$40.7 million (down -19.1%)
- Poland: -$13.2 million (down -40.9%)
- Romania: -$12.5 million (down -25.8%)
- Vietnam: -$12.1 million (down -54.1%)
- Argentina: -$11.6 million (up 43.9%)
- Switzerland: -$8 million (down -10.4%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$7.6 million (up 67.4%)
Highly populated India incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of stainless steel. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights India’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for stainless steel-supplying countries to help satisfy the powerful demand.
Stainless Steel Exporting Companies
Below are global stainless steel-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of stainless steel. Each home country is shown within parenthesis.
- Acerinox, SA (Spain)
- British Steel Limited (United Kingdom)
- China Steel (Taiwan)
- Gruppo Riva (Italy)
- Nucor Corporation (United States)
- SSAB AB (Sweden)
- Tata Steel Limited (India)
- ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany)
- Vallourec (France)
- Voestalpine (Austria)
See also Iron Ore Exports by Country, Copper Ore Exports bv Country, Top Nickel Exporters by Country, Top Cork Exporting Countries, Plastic Item Exports by Country and Top Aluminum Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 4, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 4, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 4, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 4, 2025
Wikipedia, List of steel producers. Accessed on June 4, 2025