Methanol: Movement

How Gulf and Trinidad gas sails to China and India

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 290511

World exports $7.35 bn 79 reporting exporters · about 19.1 m t Largest exporter Trinidad and Tobago 18.5% of world exports Largest importer China 32.1% of world imports India imports $877.8 m
exports $22.0 m #3 importer · #19 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 290511: 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 290511: largest exporters

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Trinidad and Tobago	18.5%	$1.36 bn	4.49 m
Saudi Arabia	17.5%	$1.28 bn	4.33 m
United States	13.7%	$1.01 bn	–
Netherlands	11.2%	$825.8 m	2.27 m
Oman	8.4%	$614.7 m	2.20 m
Malaysia	6.3%	$460.7 m	1.64 m
Chile	4.2%	$312.1 m	1.02 m
Belgium	3.8%	$280.7 m	–

HS 290511: largest importers

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
China	32.1%	$3.99 bn	13.5 m
Netherlands	8.5%	$1.06 bn	3.24 m
India	7.1%	$877.8 m	–
Brazil	5.7%	$706.4 m	–
Germany	5.5%	$685.2 m	2.09 m
South Korea	5.4%	$672.9 m	–
Japan	4%	$498.0 m	1.50 m
Belgium	3.5%	$428.7 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	roughly a quarter of output (indicative, basis: China's about 15 Mt imports plus India's 3.5 Mt plus Europe and other importers against 112 Mt output)
How it moves	Liquid in chemical and dedicated methanol tankers (10-50 kt), then tank farms and road tankers. It is easy to ship at ambient temperature, so gas-rich regions export it as a way to monetise gas.
Routes and chokepoints	Gulf to China and India (through Hormuz, except Oman's terminals outside it); Iran to China; US Gulf and Trinidad to Europe, Latin America and Asia via Panama. Hormuz carries about a third of seaborne methanol (Crisil).
India	India imported nearly 3.4 Mt in 2025, up 13.5% (S&P Global): Oman 1.6 Mt, Saudi Arabia 0.95 Mt, Qatar 0.33 Mt, Bahrain 0.24 Mt. In March-May 2026 the Middle East share fell to 51% and China, Venezuela, Malaysia and Russia filled part of the gap (Crisil). Import value was about $878 million in 2024 (price-watch.ai).
Handling in transit	UN1230, Class 3 flammable liquid with subsidiary 6.1 toxic, Packing Group II. Burns with an almost invisible flame; needs nitrogen blanketing and alcohol-resistant foam.