Caustic soda: Movement
Unlike chlorine, caustic sails the world as lye
What this tab covers How it moves between countries: share of output traded, physical form and transport, the largest exporters and importers, main routes, India's trade, and handling rules in transit.Trade in 2024 UN Comtrade, HS 281511
World exports $681.3 m 92 reporting exporters · about 1.17 m t Largest exporter China 33.8% of world exports Largest importer Indonesia 5.9% of world imports India imports $7.06 mexports $163.0 m #41 importer · #2 exporter
Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024
Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 281511: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.HS 281511: largest exporters
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 33.8% | $230.6 m | 473k |
| India | 23.9% | $163.0 m | 341k |
| France | 5.2% | $35.4 m | 58k |
| Thailand | 4.7% | $32.0 m | 48k |
| Poland | 4.4% | $29.9 m | 42k |
| Saudi Arabia | 4% | $27.0 m | 47k |
| Belgium | 3.2% | $21.8 m | – |
| Kuwait | 2.8% | $19.3 m | 33k |
HS 281511: largest importers
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 5.9% | $54.9 m | – |
| Nigeria | 4.7% | $43.8 m | – |
| Iraq | 4.2% | $39.2 m | 25k |
| United States | 4% | $36.8 m | – |
| DR Congo | 3.5% | $32.6 m | 41k |
| Uzbekistan | 3.2% | $29.9 m | – |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 2.9% | $27.0 m | 47k |
| Tanzania | 2.8% | $26.2 m | – |
HS 281512: largest exporters
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 28.3% | $1.19 bn | – |
| China | 18.4% | $776.8 m | 2.60 m |
| Japan | 8% | $339.5 m | 1.87 m |
| Netherlands | 8% | $336.1 m | 1.68 m |
| Belgium | 7.7% | $324.7 m | – |
| South Korea | 4.6% | $195.0 m | – |
| France | 3.6% | $154.0 m | – |
| Saudi Arabia | 3.5% | $146.5 m | 525k |
HS 281512: largest importers
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 20.1% | $1.12 bn | – |
| Brazil | 11.5% | $643.2 m | 2.43 m |
| Indonesia | 8.2% | $456.3 m | 1.40 m |
| United States | 5.3% | $295.3 m | 1.04 m |
| Canada | 4.1% | $229.3 m | 283k |
| Finland | 4% | $221.2 m | – |
| Netherlands | 3.9% | $219.0 m | – |
| Sweden | 3.6% | $203.6 m | 680k |
How it moves
| Measure | Figure | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share traded | about 10-12% of world output crosses borders (indicative) | ||
| How it moves | 50% liquid in coated or stainless-steel chemical tankers and barges; flakes and pearls in 25 kg bags or big bags for remote buyers. Liquid caustic freezes at about 12 C, so tanks are heated in cold climates. | ||
| Routes and chokepoints | US Gulf to Latin America and Europe; NE Asia to Australia, South-East Asia and India; Middle East to India and East Africa. Panama Canal and Strait of Hormuz matter for some flows. | ||
| India | India's imports are small and fell 33% in FY2024-25, while exports rose about 25% (TPL Directors' Report FY2025). In 2024 India was the second-largest exporter of solid caustic (HS 281511), $163 million or 23.9% of world export value, and exported $65 million of lye against $61 million of lye imports (HS 281512, UN Comtrade). Export offers were about $400/dmt fob in Oct 2025 (Argus). | ||
| Handling in transit | UN1823 (solid) and UN1824 (solution), class 8 corrosive, packing group II. |