Chlorine: Movement

Why chlorine travels hidden inside plastic

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 280110

World exports $325.3 m 81 reporting exporters · about 464k t Largest exporter Canada 44.3% of world exports Largest importer United States 52.4% of world imports India imports $23k
exports $2.41 m #124 importer · #21 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 280110: 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 280110: largest exporters

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Canada	44.3%	$144.3 m	169k
Mexico	14.3%	$46.4 m	70k
United States	4%	$13.0 m	9,642
France	3.6%	$11.8 m	32k
Colombia	3.6%	$11.8 m	16k
Belgium	3.2%	$10.4 m	20k
South Africa	2.7%	$8.91 m	–
Japan	2.5%	$8.04 m	619

HS 280110: largest importers

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
United States	52.4%	$214.8 m	268k
Jordan	11.8%	$48.4 m	111k
Belgium	2.5%	$10.1 m	39k
Dominican Republic	1.8%	$7.39 m	7,583
Ukraine	1.5%	$6.30 m	9,348
Philippines	1.5%	$6.16 m	–
Iraq	1.5%	$5.97 m	7,717
Hungary	1.3%	$5.19 m	30k

UN Comtrade 2024, reported by each country (exports by exporters, imports by importers), all partners. Some countries (for example Russia and Iran) do not report, so their shares are missing. HS codes can be broader than the tile: check the code before reading a share as the whole market.

How it moves

Measure	Figure
Share traded	very small, probably 1-2% of output (indicative); almost all chlorine is used within the plant or region where it is made
How it moves	Pressurised liquid in tonners (900 kg), rail tank cars and road tankers; pipelines inside chemical parks. Chlorine is shipped instead as EDC, VCM or PVC, which carry it safely.
Routes and chokepoints	Short rail and road hauls; cross-border rail between Canada and the US; within European chemical clusters. Chlorine embedded in EDC, VCM and PVC moves by sea from the US Gulf, Japan and the Middle East to Asia.
India	India trades almost no elemental chlorine; it imports chlorine embedded in PVC (1.17 Mt of suspension PVC from China alone in 2025) and VCM.
Handling in transit	UN1017, class 2.3 (toxic gas) with subsidiary oxidiser 5.1 and corrosive 8; needs approved cylinders, emergency kits and route restrictions.