Ethylene oxide: Movement

Why EO almost never goes to sea

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 291010

World exports $416.4 m 39 reporting exporters · about 298k t Largest exporter Germany 44.1% of world exports Largest importer Germany 24% of world imports India imports $1.38 m
exports $2.00 m #22 importer · #6 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 291010: 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 291010: largest exporters

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Germany	44.1%	$183.6 m	137k
Netherlands	26.4%	$110.1 m	88k
Belgium	20.1%	$83.7 m	60k
United States	5.6%	$23.5 m	7,005
Spain	1.1%	$4.79 m	3,461
India	0.5%	$2.00 m	1,194
China	0.5%	$1.98 m	971
Singapore	0.4%	$1.56 m	445

HS 291010: largest importers

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Germany	24%	$108.0 m	88k
Italy	23.7%	$106.4 m	72k
France	11.1%	$49.7 m	40k
Belgium	10.6%	$47.8 m	38k
Poland	5.4%	$24.4 m	19k
Slovakia	4%	$17.9 m	13k
United Kingdom	3.4%	$15.2 m	8,645
Spain	2.9%	$13.2 m	10k

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	under 2% of output crosses borders as EO (indicative); it moves as glycols, ethoxylates and amines
How it moves	Pressurised liquid under nitrogen blanket in insulated rail cars or ISO tanks, refrigerated below about 10°C. Long voyages are avoided because of explosion and polymerisation risk.
Routes and chokepoints	Short regional rail and road lanes; no major seaborne lanes.
India	India's EO trade is negligible; HS 291010 data not retrieved.
Handling in transit	UN1040 ethylene oxide (with nitrogen), Class 2.3 toxic gas with 2.1 flammable subsidiary risk; strict temperature control.