Water treatment chemicals: Movement
Why liquid coagulants rarely travel far from the plant
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 382499
World exports $43.3 bn 126 reporting exporters · about 14.8 m t Largest exporter China 13.7% of world exports Largest importer China 15.4% of world imports India imports $1.15 bnexports $342.8 m #12 importer · #21 exporter
Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024
Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 382499: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.HS 382499: largest exporters
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 13.7% | $5.93 bn | 4.86 m |
| Germany | 13.5% | $5.82 bn | 2.14 m |
| United States | 12.3% | $5.32 bn | 1.03 m |
| Japan | 10.5% | $4.54 bn | 416k |
| Ireland | 7.5% | $3.25 bn | 80k |
| South Korea | 5% | $2.17 bn | 388k |
| France | 4.7% | $2.02 bn | – |
| Netherlands | 4.3% | $1.84 bn | 749k |
HS 382499: largest importers
| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 15.4% | $6.83 bn | 2.17 m |
| United States | 14.1% | $6.24 bn | 874k |
| Germany | 6.6% | $2.93 bn | 1.30 m |
| Hungary | 4.4% | $1.95 bn | 132k |
| Mexico | 3.9% | $1.72 bn | – |
| South Korea | 3.8% | $1.70 bn | – |
| France | 3.2% | $1.42 bn | 561k |
| Japan | 3.1% | $1.37 bn | 631k |
How it moves
| Measure | Figure | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share traded | small for coagulants (liquid, low value, made locally); larger for polyacrylamide powder, phosphonates and specialty biocides; no published share | ||
| How it moves | Liquid coagulants travel by road tanker over short distances. Polyacrylamide moves as powder in bags or as emulsion in IBCs, in containers. Hypochlorite is made near use because it decomposes. | ||
| Routes and chokepoints | China to South and South-East Asia and the Middle East for polymers and phosphonates; Europe and US to the rest of the world for specialty biocides and programmes. | ||
| India | . Polyacrylamide is largely imported (indicative). HS 382499: India imported $1.15 billion (2.6% of world imports, rank 12) and exported $343 million (0.8% of world exports, rank 21) (UN Comtrade 2024). | ||
| Handling in transit | Ferric chloride solution UN2582, class 8; sodium hypochlorite solution UN1791, class 8; aluminium chloride solution UN2581, class 8; polyacrylamide polymer is not classified as dangerous goods. |