Formaldehyde: Movement

Mostly water, so it hardly travels at all

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 291211

World exports $157.0 m 72 reporting exporters · about 426k t Largest exporter Netherlands 21.3% of world exports Largest importer Germany 18.3% of world imports India imports $75k
exports $6.67 m #77 importer · #7 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 291211: 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 291211: largest exporters

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Netherlands	21.3%	$33.4 m	118k
Belgium	15.9%	$24.9 m	61k
Germany	11.8%	$18.6 m	50k
Italy	8.9%	$13.9 m	39k
Poland	7.7%	$12.1 m	25k
United States	4.8%	$7.56 m	13k
India	4.2%	$6.67 m	30k
Canada	3.7%	$5.75 m	13k

HS 291211: largest importers

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Germany	18.3%	$30.0 m	114k
Poland	9.6%	$15.8 m	25k
Netherlands	6.9%	$11.3 m	26k
France	6.7%	$11.1 m	22k
Nigeria	6%	$9.87 m	15k
Italy	5.5%	$8.99 m	–
Belgium	4.9%	$8.01 m	–
United States	3.3%	$5.48 m	12k

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	small, probably a few per cent of output (indicative, basis: formalin is 50-63% water and degrades in storage)
How it moves	Formalin in stainless or lined road tankers and ISO tanks, heated to avoid paraformaldehyde precipitation; solid paraformaldehyde in bags for export. Plants are built at the user.
Routes and chokepoints	Mostly domestic. Cross-border flows are short-haul (within the EU, US-Canada-Mexico, China to Southeast Asia).
India	India is largely self-sufficient in formaldehyde but imports the methanol it is made from (98% imported; Crisil). Trade figures for HS 291211 not verified.
Handling in transit	UN2209 formaldehyde solution (at least 25%), Class 8 corrosive, Packing Group III; UN1198 if flammable (methanol-stabilised). Toxic vapour; keep warm to stop polymerisation.