Nitric acid: Movement
Why acid stays home and ammonium nitrate travels
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 280800
World exports $403.2 m 72 reporting exporters · about 1.61 m t Largest exporter South Korea 29.6% of world exports Largest importer Germany 8.6% of world imports India imports $24.8 mexports $5.18 m #7 importer · #13 exporter
Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024
Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 280800: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.HS 280800: largest exporters
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 29.6% | $119.4 m | 748k |
| Germany | 19.4% | $78.2 m | 313k |
| Belgium | 16.9% | $68.0 m | 256k |
| Netherlands | 3.7% | $15.0 m | 53k |
| United States | 3.7% | $15.0 m | 32k |
| China | 3.5% | $14.0 m | 45k |
| Portugal | 2.6% | $10.5 m | 38k |
| France | 2.4% | $9.58 m | 15k |
HS 280800: largest importers
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 8.6% | $39.2 m | 159k |
| Belgium | 8.2% | $37.5 m | 158k |
| France | 8.1% | $37.1 m | 145k |
| Japan | 7.9% | $36.3 m | 142k |
| China | 6.6% | $30.0 m | 156k |
| Malaysia | 5.6% | $25.5 m | 83k |
| India | 5.4% | $24.8 m | – |
| Spain | 4.4% | $20.2 m | 73k |
How it moves
| Measure | Figure | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share traded | under about 2% of output (indicative; HS 280800 trade is small and mostly cross-border within Europe and North America) | ||
| How it moves | Weak acid moves in stainless steel road and rail tankers; concentrated acid in aluminium or stainless containers. Because acid is corrosive and an oxidiser, nitrogen is shipped as ammonia or AN and the acid is made at the user. | ||
| Routes and chokepoints | Mostly within chemical parks and by road or rail; the international nitrogen trade moves as ammonia, urea and AN through the Black Sea, Baltic, Gulf and Caribbean. | ||
| India | India's trade in nitric acid is small; figures for HS 280800 were not found in the sources used. | ||
| Handling in transit | UN2031 nitric acid (other than red fuming), class 8, with oxidiser (5.1) subsidiary risk above about 65-70%; red fuming nitric acid UN2032. Releases toxic NOx when heated or in contact with metals. |