Graphite: Movement

A small trade with a huge strategic weight

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.

Natural graphite trade (HS 2504) is small in value: about $439 million of exports in 2024. China supplied 46.6%, followed by Madagascar (8.2%), Germany (7.5%) and the US (5.1%). The US (24.8%), Germany (11.8%), Japan (10.3%) and South Korea (7.5%) led imports. The strategic story lies in processed products: USGS reports China exported 37,400 tons of spherical graphite in the first nine months of 2025, mostly to Korea, Indonesia and Japan. China has long used export duties and quotas (Pitron, pdf p. 93); in 2025 the US set preliminary 93.5% anti-dumping duties on Chinese anode material.

Main trade routes, 2024

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 2024, 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.

Natural graphite · HS 2504

World exports 2024 $439.2 m sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $599.3 m sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value China 46.6% Madagascar 8.2% Germany 7.5% United States 5.1% Brazil 4.9% Canada 4.3% Top importers, share of value United States 24.8% Germany 11.8% Japan 10.3% South Korea 7.5% India 7.2% Poland 6.7% UN Comtrade, reporter declarations to the world, US$. Exports and imports are reported separately, so totals differ. Re-exporting hubs (Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE) can appear large.