# Nitric acid: Movement

Why acid stays home and ammonium nitrate travels

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/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 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 m
exports $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 |

 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 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. |  |  |

## Other sections

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