# Surfactants: Movement

Why active pastes stay local while feedstocks sail far

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/surfactants/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 340211
 World exports $1.49 m 5 reporting exporters · about 1,027 t Largest exporter Lebanon 61.9% of world exports Largest importer Lebanon 40.4% of world imports

#### 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 340211: 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 340211: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Lebanon** | 61.9% | $924k | 729 |
| **Trinidad and Tobago** | 34% | $507k | 280 |
| **Guyana** | 3.9% | $59k | 13.1 |
| **Togo** | 0.2% | $2,331 | 5.00 |
| **Samoa** | 0% | $568 | 0.10 |

#### HS 340211: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Lebanon** | 40.4% | $8.02 m | 4,861 |
| **Iraq** | 39.2% | $7.77 m | 7,060 |
| **Trinidad and Tobago** | 9.8% | $1.95 m | 1,263 |
| **Yemen** | 2.7% | $544k | 893 |
| **Guyana** | 2% | $404k | 92.2 |
| **Cayman Islands** | 1.9% | $369k | – |
| **Grenada** | 1.5% | $295k | 104 |
| **Suriname** | 1.2% | $235k | 353 |

#### HS 340213: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Trinidad and Tobago** | 79.4% | $206k | 27.4 |
| **Lebanon** | 17.8% | $46k | – |
| **Grenada** | 2.8% | $7,218 | – |
| **Guyana** | 0% | $20.0 | 0.01 |

#### HS 340213: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Lebanon** | 73.4% | $5.88 m | 2,101 |
| **Trinidad and Tobago** | 13.6% | $1.09 m | 364 |
| **Cabo Verde** | 5.6% | $450k | 223 |
| **Guyana** | 2.9% | $234k | 132 |
| **Cayman Islands** | 2.2% | $173k | – |
| **Suriname** | 1.4% | $114k | 33.8 |
| **Grenada** | 0.7% | $52k | 1.84 |
| **Antigua and Barbuda** | 0.1% | $6,874 | 2.27 |

 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** | moderate, roughly 15-25% of output (indicative, basis: active pastes are mostly made near detergent plants, while LAB, fatty alcohols and specialty surfactants travel) |  |  |
| **How it moves** | Liquids and pastes in ISO tanks, flexitanks, drums and IBCs; LABSA and ethoxylates by chemical tanker; needles and powders in bags. |  |  |
| **Routes and chokepoints** | Gulf to India and Africa (LAB, LAS); Malaysia and Indonesia to India, China and Europe (fatty alcohols); India to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US (specialty surfactants). |  |  |
| **India** | India is a net exporter of LAS but imported 44% of its LAB in 2020 (lab tile); HS 3402. Not reported separately. |  |  |
| **Handling in transit** | LABSA: UN2586, class 8 corrosive (indicative); many ethoxylates UN3082 environmentally hazardous liquid; SLES pastes generally not regulated (indicative). |  |  |

## Other sections

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