Arsenic: Movement
A tiny trade led by China, Japan and Germany
What this tab covers How it flows between countries: the largest bilateral trade routes drawn on a world map, 2024 UN Comtrade export and import values with the top exporters and importers by share, plus shipping routes, chokepoints and trade restrictions.Comtrade records $14.7 million of arsenic metal exports (HS 2804.80) in 2023. China led with 41.9%, then Japan (23.4%), Germany (10.2%), the Netherlands (9.3%) and France (8.5%). Imports in 2024 totalled $9.1 million, led by the US (17.0%), China (10.9%), India (8.1%) and Germany (7.2%). This heading excludes arsenic trioxide, the main bulk form, so it mostly captures metal for alloys and semiconductors. USGS says 95% of US arsenic metal imports came from China. The larger hidden trade is arsenic inside copper concentrates shipped to Asian smelters.
Main trade routes, 2023
Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Largest bilateral flows (width = value) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2023, reported exports by the top four exporters of each traded form to their partners (US$). Bubbles: shares of reported world exports and imports for the main traded form. Hover a line or circle for values.