Diatomite: Criticality

Why diatomite is nowhere near critical

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	Low	32.7%	4.9%	35.0%	+$50.0 m	No	Leading producer and consumer (720 kt in 2025, 250 Mt reserves) and a net exporter with 35% of world export value (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024).
EU	High	14.8%	46.8%	37.7%	−$32.6 m	No	Produces in Denmark (380 kt), France (250 kt), Germany and Spain; diatomite is not critical in the EU and its recycling input rate is 4% (USGS 2026; EU CRM 2023).
India	High	0.0%	2.0%	0.6%	−$3.07 m	No	Not a listed producer and not a top-six importer by value; diatomite is not on India's 2023 critical list (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024).
China	Low	19.3%	4.6%	12.4%	+$11.9 m	No	Produced 140 kt in 2025 with 120 Mt of reserves and held 12% of world export value (USGS; UN Comtrade).
Japan	Low	0.0%	0.8%	1.9%	+$1.63 m	No	Produced about 40 kt in 2025 (USGS).
Latin America	Medium	17.2%	16.7%	5.4%	−$25.6 m	no list	Argentina (190 kt), Mexico (100 kt) and Peru (99 kt) produce, and Brazil is the largest importer by value (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024).
Middle East	Low	0.1%	0.7%	0.0%	−$1.51 m	no list	No producers listed apart from Turkey (150 kt, 44 Mt reserves), which straddles Europe and the region (USGS 2026).
Australia	Low	0.0%	0.8%	0.1%	−$1.50 m	No	Not listed; New Zealand produced about 40 kt (USGS 2026).

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 2024 (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.

Diatomite is not critical. The EU scores its supply risk at only 0.3, with economic importance of 2.3 and no import reliance. It is not on the US 2025 or India 2023 lists. Many substitutes exist: expanded perlite and silica sand for filtration, ceramic, polymer and cellulose filters, and clay, limestone, talc or perlite as fillers. The main risk is regulatory. Rules on crystalline silica exposure raise processing costs and shape product design.

EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list No Production HHI 1,676 moderately concentrated

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). Diatomite: supply risk 0.3, economic importance 2.3. EU import reliance, extraction 0% EU recycling input rate 4%

Substitutes

Expanded perlite and silica sand for filtration; ceramic, polymeric, carbon and cellulose filters; clay, limestone, mica, silica sand, perlite, talc and vermiculite as fillers