Kaolin & clays: Criticality

Why clays fall below the critical threshold

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	n/a	9.5%	–	–	–	No	Produced 26 Mt of clays in 2025 and was a net exporter, shipping 1.6 Mt of kaolin and 640 kt of bentonite (USGS 2026).
EU	n/a	16.2%	–	–	–	No	Produces kaolin in Czechia (2.4 Mt) and Spain and bentonite in Greece (1.0 Mt); kaolin is not on the 2023 critical list and has a 31% EU recycling input rate (USGS 2026; EU CRM 2023).
India	n/a	17.2%	–	–	–	No	Largest kaolin producer (8.4 Mt) and second-largest bentonite producer (3.7 Mt) in 2025, a growing exporter, and home to the Morbi tile cluster; not on India's 2023 critical list (USGS; IBM).
China	n/a	17.3%	–	–	–	No	Second-largest kaolin producer (7.8 Mt) and fourth in bentonite (2.1 Mt) in 2025, feeding the world's largest ceramics industry (USGS 2026).
Japan	n/a	0.0%	–	–	–	No	Not among the producers listed by USGS for 2025; a leading buyer of US kaolin and bentonite (USGS 2026).
Latin America	n/a	3.1%	–	–	–	no list	Brazil is a major kaolin exporter, supplying 56% of US clay imports in 2021-24; Mexico supplied 24% (USGS 2026).
Middle East	n/a	6.0%	–	–	–	no list	Iran produced 2.1 Mt of kaolin and 1.3 Mt of bentonite, and Turkey 2.0 Mt and 2.5 Mt, in 2025 (USGS 2026).
Australia	n/a	0.4%	–	–	–	No	Not among the producers listed by USGS for 2025.

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Clays are not critical. The EU scores kaolin's supply risk at 0.8, below its threshold of 1, with economic importance of 2.8. Neither the US 2025 nor the India 2023 list includes clays. Supply is widespread and unconcentrated, and the United States is a net exporter. Substitutes are plentiful: calcium carbonate in fillers, and diatomite, zeolites, silica gel or organic litters as absorbents. The one new strategic angle is clay as a host for lithium, as at Thacker Pass.

EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list No Production HHI 1,009 unconcentrated

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Kaolin & clays: supply risk 0.8, economic importance 2.8. EU import reliance, extraction 28% EU import reliance, processing 11% EU recycling input rate 31%

Substitutes

Calcium carbonate in fillers and extenders; diatomite, organic pet litters, polymers, silica gel and zeolites as absorbents