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Uranium Exports by Country

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Nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
Uranium is a silvery-white metal that is radioactive with unique nuclear properties. Uranium’s major uses are as high-density penetrators in the military sector and as a fuel for nuclear power plants in the civilian sphere.

Worldwide exports of uranium were worth US$6.1 billion during 2021, up by 13.5% over the 5-year period starting in 2017.

From 2020 to 2021, the value of exported uranium rose 13%.

Different Types of Exported Uranium

There are three major subcategories for exported uranium. The 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 284410 for natural uranium and its compounds. Code prefix 284420 represents enriched uranium, while 284430 is for depleted uranium.

Natural uranium exports by country totaled US$3.2 billion in 2021, up by an average 5.1% for all exporting countries since 2017. From 2020 to 2021, exported natural uranium appreciated by 3.6%.

The value of exported enriched uranium was $2.8 billion, exceeding by 27.8% the comparable amount for 2017 and accelerating by 25.3% from year over year.

Exports for the third and smallest type, depleted uranium export sales amounted to $65 million. That dollar amount results from a -42.9% slowdown from 2017 but a 35.4% increase from 2020 to 2021.

Natural Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of natural uranium during 2021.

  1. Kazakhstan: US$1.1 billion (33.7% of natural uranium exports)
  2. Canada: $954.7 million (30.1%)
  3. Namibia: $535.5 million (16.9%)
  4. Niger: $252.1 million (8%)
  5. United States: $210.8 million (6.7%)
  6. France: $59.7 million (1.9%)
  7. United Kingdom: $33.4 million (1.06%)
  8. Ukraine: $33.0 million (1.04%)
  9. South Africa: $12.2 million (0.4%)
  10. Czech Republic: $3.1 million (0.1%)
  11. Germany: $2.2 million (0.069%)
  12. Iran: $2.1 million (0.067%)
  13. Netherlands: $165,000 (0.005%)
  14. Sweden: $43,000 (0.001%)
  15. Egypt: $28,000 (0.0009%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9993% of global natural uranium exports in 2021.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing natural uranium exporters since 2020 were: Czech Republic (up 196,541%), France (up 7,587%) and South Africa (up 42.9%).

Those countries that posted declines in their export sales of natural uranium were led by: Netherlands (down -98.8%), Sweden (down -93.3%), Egypt (down -89.4%), Ukraine (down -58.9%) and Kazakhstan (down -37.5%).

Enriched Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of enriched uranium during 2021.

  1. Netherlands: US$827.2 million (29.1% of enriched uranium exports)
  2. Germany: $727.1 million (25.6%)
  3. France: $636.6 million (22.4%)
  4. Kazakhstan: $406.1 million (14.3%)
  5. United States: $130.5 million (4.6%)
  6. China: $64.1 million (2.3%)
  7. Niger: $44.6 million (1.6%)
  8. South Korea: $858,000 (0.03%)
  9. Japan: $350,000 (0.01%)
  10. Belgium: $238,000 (0.008%)
  11. Sweden: $149,000 (0.005%)
  12. Spain: $29,000 (0.001%)
  13. Malaysia: $10,000 (0.0004%)
  14. Czech Republic: $8,000 (0.0003%)
  15. United Kingdom: $4,000 (0.00014%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9999% of globally exported enriched uranium in 2021.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing enriched uranium exporters since 2020 were: Kazakhstan (up 5,572%), Belgium (up 1,600%), Japan (up 414.7%) and the United Kingdom (up 33.3%).

Those countries that posted declines in their export sales of enriched uranium were: Spain (down -99.9%), mainland China (down -64.2%) and the United States of America (down -29.1%).

Depleted Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of depleted uranium during 2021.

  1. France: US$37.1 million (57.1% of depleted uranium exports)
  2. Germany: $13.9 million (21.4%)
  3. Sweden: $5.9 million (9%)
  4. United States of America: $5.6 million (8.6%)
  5. India: $653,000 (1%)
  6. Czech Republic: $521,000 (0.8%)
  7. Australia: $441,000 (0.7%)
  8. United Kingdom: $190,000 (0.3%)
  9. Netherlands: $147,000 (0.23%)
  10. Poland: $134,000 (0.21%)
  11. Spain: $134,000 (0.21%)
  12. Canada: $120,000 (0.18%)
  13. Switzerland: $120,000 (0.18%)
  14. Norway: $32,000 (0.05%)
  15. South Africa: $7,000 (0.01%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.96% of global depleted uranium exports in 2021 by value.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of depleted uranium since 2020 were: Netherlands (up 2,000%), South Africa (up 600%), Spain (up 282.9%) and Canada (up 263.6%).

Two countries posted declines in their revenues from exporting depleted uranium, namely Poland (down -29.8%) and Germany (down -26.5%).

Major Uranium Companies

According to MiningFeeds.com, the following companies represent established players engaged in the international uranium trade. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.

  • Altius Minerals (Canada)
  • BHP Billiton Ltd (Australia)
  • Cameco (Canada)
  • Energy Resources of Australia (Australia)
  • Rio Tinto Ltd (Australia)
  • Uranium Energy Corp (United States)
  • Uranium Participation Corp (Canada)
  • Ur-Energy Inc (United States)

 

Continental Sources by Type of Exported Uranium

Suppliers in North America collected the most revenue from natural uranium exports during 2021 with shipments valued at $1.2 billion or 36.8% of the global total. Close behind in second place were exporters in Asia at 33.8%.

Africa is fast becoming a major source of natural uranium on international markets providing 25.2% of globally exported natural uranium.

Another 4.2% of natural uranium shipments came from Europe–a much smaller source.

European exporters were responsible for over three-quarters (77.2%) of the world’s exports of enriched uranium in 2021.

Asian countries generated 16.6% of worldwide enriched uranium exports, trailed by North American nations at 4.6% well ahead of suppliers in Africa at 1.6%.

Europe is also a leading source for depleted uranium exports given its 89.5% worldwide share.

North America furnishes another 8.8% to international markets for depleted uranium.

Much smaller exporters of depleted uranium are located in Asia (1%), Oceania’s Australia (0.7%) and Africa (0.01%).

See also Gold Exports by Country, Silver Exports by Country, Platinum Exports by Country and US Uranium Imports by Supplying Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 25, 2022

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 25, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 25, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 25, 2022

Mining Feeds, Uranium Mining Companies Listed in All Countries. Accessed on May 25, 2022

Wikipedia, Uranium. Accessed on May 25, 2022