# Lactic acid and PLA: Movement

Keep it dry: shipping pellets and acid around the world

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/movement/

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 291811
 World exports $660.1 m 72 reporting exporters · about 374k t Largest exporter China 21.2% of world exports Largest importer United States 11.1% of world imports India imports $10.0 m
exports $5.08 m #19 importer · #12 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 291811: 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 291811: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **China** | 21.2% | $139.7 m | 107k |
| **Thailand** | 19.3% | $127.7 m | 116k |
| **Spain** | 11% | $72.5 m | 32k |
| **Belgium** | 10.8% | $71.5 m | 31k |
| **France** | 10.5% | $69.5 m | 30k |
| **United States** | 5.5% | $36.4 m | 11k |
| **Germany** | 4.9% | $32.4 m | 7,056 |
| **Brazil** | 4.1% | $26.8 m | 19k |

#### HS 291811: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **United States** | 11.1% | $83.2 m | 25k |
| **Spain** | 9.9% | $74.4 m | – |
| **Germany** | 7.8% | $58.4 m | 25k |
| **Italy** | 6.2% | $46.5 m | 13k |
| **South Korea** | 5.4% | $40.5 m | – |
| **Japan** | 5.1% | $38.3 m | 21k |
| **China** | 4.6% | $34.4 m | 18k |
| **Mexico** | 3.9% | $29.4 m | – |

#### HS 390770: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **United States** | 35.7% | $179.4 m | 74k |
| **Thailand** | 26% | $130.8 m | 57k |
| **Netherlands** | 24.1% | $121.2 m | 45k |
| **China** | 9.3% | $46.7 m | 19k |
| **Belgium** | 1% | $4.87 m | 1,951 |
| **Japan** | 0.5% | $2.46 m | – |
| **South Korea** | 0.5% | $2.35 m | – |
| **Switzerland** | 0.4% | $1.80 m | – |

#### HS 390770: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **China** | 26.6% | $124.6 m | 50k |
| **Netherlands** | 17.7% | $82.9 m | 33k |
| **Italy** | 10.3% | $48.4 m | 18k |
| **Germany** | 7.5% | $35.4 m | 12k |
| **South Korea** | 5.6% | $26.1 m | – |
| **United States** | 4.6% | $21.4 m | 4,941 |
| **Japan** | 2.9% | $13.5 m | 4,768 |
| **France** | 2.8% | $13.2 m | – |

 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** | high: Thai and US plants serve the world; to be confirmed with UN Comtrade HS 390770 and 291811 |  |  |
| **How it moves** | PLA pellets in 25 kg bags and 1 t big bags by container; must be kept dry because moisture degrades it in processing. Lactic acid moves as 80-90% solution in drums, IBCs and ISO tanks. |  |  |
| **Routes and chokepoints** | Thailand and US to Europe, Japan, India and the Americas; China to Asia. |  |  |
| **India** | . India imports all its PLA today (indicative). HS 291811: India imported $10 million (1.3% of world imports, rank 19) and exported $5 million (0.8% of world exports, rank 12); HS 390770: India imported $10 million (2.0% of world imports, rank 9) and exported $249 thousand (0.0% of world exports, rank 22) (UN Comtrade 2024). |  |  |
| **Handling in transit** | PLA is not dangerous goods. Concentrated lactic acid is corrosive, UN3265 class 8 in some solutions (indicative). |  |  |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/trading/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/links/index.md)