Silicon: Movement

Norway and Brazil ship; Germany and Japan buy

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.

World trade in silicon metal (HS 280469) was worth about $3.5 billion in 2024. China supplied 38.3% of exports, then Norway (14.0%), Brazil (13.4%) and France (6.7%); Germany (16.6%), the US (13.4%), Japan (11.0%) and Thailand (9.9%) were the main importers. Ferrosilicon (HS 720221) exports were about $2.4 billion, led by China (21.0%), Brazil (12.8%) and Malaysia (11.5%), with Japan (19.1%) and South Korea (11.4%) the top buyers. In 2025 the US imposed duties on ferrosilicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, extending a long history of dumping cases (Humphreys, pdf p. 90).

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. Bubbles: shares of reported world exports and imports for the main traded form. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

Silicon (<99.99%) · HS 280469

World exports 2024 $3.48 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $3.56 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value China 38.3% Norway 14% Brazil 13.4% France 6.7% Canada 3.7% Australia 3.1% Top importers, share of value Germany 16.6% United States 13.4% Japan 11% Thailand 9.9% India 5.2% Malaysia 5.2%

Ferrosilicon · HS 720221

World exports 2024 $2.42 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $2.88 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value China 21% Brazil 12.8% Malaysia 11.5% Norway 10.9% Iceland 7.8% Kazakhstan 6.4% Top importers, share of value Japan 19.1% South Korea 11.4% United States 9.6% Germany 8.6% India 8.5% Turkey 4.6% UN Comtrade, reporter declarations to the world, US$. Exports and imports are reported separately, so totals differ. Re-exporting hubs (Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE) can appear large.