Unwrought aluminum exported from all countries was worth a total US$71 billion in 2023, up by an average 49.1% starting from $47.6 billion five years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, the value of exported raw aluminum slipped by -19.9% compared to $88.6 billion for 2022.

By value, the 6 biggest exporters (Canada, Russia, United Arab Emirates, India, Malaysia and Norway) generated almost half 49.2% of aluminum shipments in 2023.

Spelled aluminium by British writers, aluminum is the world’s most widely used non-iron and non-steel metal and is the basic ingredient for a wide range of recyclable products. The latter includes beverage cans, construction materials and transport vehicles. Silvery-white in color, pure aluminum is non-magnetic and is also notable for its low density, relatively light weight and resistance to corrosion.

Among continents, Asian countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported aluminum during 2023 with shipments valued at $27.1 billion or 38.2% of the global total. In second place were Europe-based exporters at 35.5% while another 13.9% of worldwide aluminum shipments originated from North America.

Smaller percentages came from providers in Oceania (6.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Africa (5%), then Latin America (1.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for raw aluminum is 7601.

Top Aluminum Exporters by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of aluminum during 2023.

1. Canada: US$8.1 billion (11.4% of total aluminum exports)
2. Russia: $7.44 billion (10.5%)
3. United Arab Emirates: $6.6 billion (9.3%)
4. India: $4.8 billion (6.7%)
5. Malaysia: $4.4 billion (6.1%)
6. Norway: $3.7 billion (5.2%)
7. Australia: $3.5 billion (5%)
8. Bahrain: $3 billion (4.3%)
9. Netherlands: $2.15 billion (3%)
10. Iceland: $2.09 billion (2.9%)
11. Qatar: $1.7 billion (2.4%)
12. United States: $1.66 billion (2.3%)
13. South Africa: $1.58 billion (2.2%)
14. Italy: $1.53 billion (2.2%)
15. Germany: $1.4 billion (2%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 75.5% of global aluminum exported in 2023.

Among the top exporters, the growth aluminum exporters since 2022 were: South Africa (up 34.9%) and the United Arab Emirates (up 4.6%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported aluminum sales were led by: Bahrain (down -42.9% from 2022), Netherlands (down -36.7%), India (down -32.8%), Norway (down -26.7%) and Iceland (down -21.4%).

Countries Earning Greatest Surpluses from Global Aluminum Trade

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for aluminum during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported aluminum and its import purchases for that same commodity.

1. Canada: US$7.6 billion (net export surplus down -11.9% since 2022)
2. Russia: $7.4 billion (down -15.3%)
3. United Arab Emirates: $6.6 billion (up 5%)
4. India: $3.9 billion (down -38.5%)
5. Australia: $3.4 billion (down -13.1%)
6. Norway: $3.2 billion (down -25.5%)
7. Bahrain: $3 billion (down -41.7%)
8. Iceland: $2.1 billion (down -20.6%)
9. Malaysia: $1.72 billion (down -53.6%)
10. Qatar: $1.7 billion (down -19%)
11. South Africa: $1.5 billion (up 40.1%)
12. Mozambique: $1.1 billion (down -35.7%)
13. New Zealand: $757.4 million (down -6.1%)
14. Saudi Arabia: $651.2 million (up 34.3%)
15. Oman: $619.7 million (up 9.9%)

Canada, Russia and the UAE generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of aluminum. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the strong competitive advantages for those countries in the international trade for this specific product category.

Countries Incurring Worst Deficits from Global Aluminum Trade

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for aluminum during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported aluminum purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

1. United States: -US$10.2 billion (net export deficit down -24.7% since 2022)
2. Germany: -$5.1 billion (down -26.1%)
3. Japan: -$5.03 billion (down -27.9%)
4. mainland China: -$5.01 billion (up 43.5%)
5. Türkiye: -$3.7 billion (down -17.4%)
6. South Korea: -$3.1 billion (down -12.9%)
7. Mexico: -$2.7 billion (down -22.9%)
8. Italy: -$1.8 billion (down -41.3%)
9. Netherlands: -$1.3 billion (up 77.8%)
10. Thailand: -$1.1 billion (down -31.9%)
11. Spain: -$1 billion (down -30.3%)
12. Taiwan: -$983.6 million (down -38.1%)
13. France: -$925.1 million (down -11.8%)
14. Austria: -$830.9 million (down -24.2%)
15. Greece: -$668.2 million (down -27.5%)

The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of aluminum during 2023, with American imports of the silvery metal far outpacing its exports.

These negative cashflows highlight America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category and conversely signals opportunities for aluminum-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.

Searchable List of Aluminum Exporting Countries in 2023

The 100 key exporters of aluminum in the automated database below represent 99.99% of the value for all aluminum exported during 2023.

Rank	Exporter	Aluminum Exports	2022-3
1.	Canada	$8,080,832,000	-13.1%
2.	Russia	$7,443,424,000	-15.2%
3.	United Arab Emirates	$6,575,468,000	+4.6%
4.	India	$4,760,544,000	-32.8%
5.	Malaysia	$4,356,338,000	-18.8%
6.	Norway	$3,719,114,000	-26.7%
7.	Australia	$3,541,731,000	-14.3%
8.	Bahrain	$3,033,237,000	-42.9%
9.	Netherlands	$2,147,672,000	-36.7%
10.	Iceland	$2,089,486,000	-21.4%
11.	Qatar	$1,702,287,000	-18.8%
12.	United States	$1,664,636,000	-8.9%
13.	South Africa	$1,583,306,000	+34.9%
14.	Italy	$1,526,629,000	-10%
15.	Germany	$1,386,571,000	-21.3%
16.	Mozambique	$1,093,376,000	-35.7%
17.	mainland China	$992,790,000	-24.4%
18.	New Zealand	$781,015,000	-8.9%
19.	Spain	$734,433,000	-24.8%
20.	Brazil	$729,699,000	+13.1%
21.	Saudi Arabia	$696,280,000	-23.1%
22.	France	$652,466,000	-26.5%
23.	Vietnam	$648,941,000	-20.9%
24.	Oman	$632,310,000	+2.8%
25.	Poland	$629,178,000	-15.9%
26.	United Kingdom	$620,385,000	-28.1%
27.	South Korea	$606,776,000	-32.7%
28.	Iran	$530,923,000	-47.5%
29.	Sweden	$512,743,000	-51.1%
30.	Austria	$465,281,000	-21.4%
31.	Kazakhstan	$460,827,000	-35.8%
32.	Romania	$445,968,000	-0.7%
33.	Denmark	$431,779,000	+395.6%
34.	Indonesia	$414,239,000	+14.7%
35.	Türkiye	$393,007,000	-46.1%
36.	Luxembourg	$350,903,000	-20.4%
37.	Greece	$349,607,000	-22.4%
38.	Egypt	$323,570,000	+40.3%
39.	Singapore	$309,643,000	-23.7%
40.	Thailand	$272,123,000	-8.3%
41.	Nigeria	$253,744,000	-0.8%
42.	Taiwan	$247,120,000	-14.3%
43.	Czech Republic	$244,776,000	-23.5%
44.	Venezuela	$224,148,000	-36.5%
45.	Slovenia	$219,475,000	-31%
46.	Hungary	$194,186,000	-12.8%
47.	Belgium	$194,035,000	-23.1%
48.	Switzerland	$173,455,000	-28.2%
49.	Montenegro	$129,172,000	-28.1%
50.	Bosnia/Herzegovina	$123,574,000	-74%
51.	Ghana	$109,772,000	-28.3%
52.	Mexico	$108,014,000	+44.9%
53.	Slovakia	$97,312,000	-72.8%
54.	Tajikistan	$93,828,000	-38.6%
55.	Cameroon	$84,853,000	-11.6%
56.	Azerbaijan	$82,844,000	-34.6%
57.	Pakistan	$72,434,000	-15.5%
58.	Ukraine	$58,387,000	+30.8%
59.	Finland	$54,342,000	-11.2%
60.	Albania	$48,906,000	0%
61.	Bulgaria	$44,951,000	-7.1%
62.	Japan	$44,121,000	-45.9%
63.	Cambodia	$32,639,000	+59.9%
64.	Angola	$31,638,000	+6978%
65.	Hong Kong	$30,363,000	+3%
66.	Myanmar	$25,703,000	-18.4%
67.	Philippines	$24,185,000	+54.4%
68.	Portugal	$23,947,000	-49.3%
69.	Serbia	$17,712,000	-15.3%
70.	Bangladesh	$16,474,000	-37.7%
71.	Ireland	$16,259,000	-13%
72.	Morocco	$13,708,000	-11.2%
73.	Tanzania	$10,376,000	-5.9%
74.	Armenia	$10,235,000	-27.7%
75.	Iraq	$9,924,000	-83.4%
76.	Croatia	$9,747,000	+41.3%
77.	Jordan	$9,740,000	-2.2%
78.	Uzbekistan	$9,650,000	+4.8%
79.	Senegal	$9,130,000	+1111%
80.	Guinea	$9,014,000	+276.1%
81.	Estonia	$8,944,000	-25.2%
82.	Lebanon	$8,321,000	+3076%
83.	Zambia	$7,866,000	+141.1%
84.	Latvia	$6,752,000	-27.8%
85.	Georgia	$6,702,000	-52.9%
86.	Tunisia	$5,517,000	-0.6%
87.	Libya	$4,592,000	+171.1%
88.	Kyrgyzstan	$4,295,000	-30.6%
89.	Gabon	$4,217,000	+4.7%
90.	Colombia	$3,464,000	+45.1%
91.	Sudan	$2,583,000	-53.9%
92.	Syria	$2,319,000	-61.1%
93.	Papua New Guinea	$1,720,000	+302.8%
94.	Laos	$1,688,000	-7.3%
95.	Israel	$1,496,000	+261.4%
96.	Dominican Republic	$1,463,000	+329%
97.	Congo	$1,281,000	+900.8%
98.	Chile	$1,253,000	+46.9%
99.	Bahamas	$1,040,000	+1095%
100.	Ecuador	$852,000	+244.9%

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above.

An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2022 data is available.

Biggest Exporters of Aluminum by Shipment Weight

In 2023, the following 20 countries exported 83.1% of globally exported raw aluminum as measured by shipment weight.

Listed below are the main exporters of aluminum ranked by volume of the silvery product shipped during 2023.

1. Canada: 2,863,033 tons of aluminum (up 5.7% from 2022)
2. Malaysia: 1,972,935 tons (down -4.2%)
3. India: 1,957,290 tons (down -20%)
4. Australia: 1,535,473 tons (up 4%)
5. Mozambique: 1,447,967 tons (up 54.6%)
6. Norway: 1,312,550 tons (down -6.1%)
7. Netherlands: 787,710 tons (down -21.3%)
8. Iceland: 768,389 tons (up 1.6%)
9. United States: 644,300 tons (up 18.6%)
10. Qatar: 638,845 tons (2022 data unavailable)
11. South Africa: 597,830 tons (up 1.4%)
12. Germany: 494,391 tons (down -6.4%)
13. China: 391,717 tons (down -7%)
14. Brazil: 328,931 tons (up 45.2%)
15. New Zealand: 311,433 tons (up 2.4%)
16. Saudi Arabia: 287,177 tons (down -29%)
17. Oman: 256,104 tons (up 23.7%)
18. South Korea: 245,057 tons (down -17.6%)
19. Poland: 244,580 tons (down -3.2%)
20. United Kingdom: 226,668 tons (down -13.7%)

The fastest-growing top exporters of aluminum were Mozambique (up 54.6% from 2022), Brazil (up 45.2%), Oman (up 23.7%), then the United States of America (up 18.6%).

The severest decliners in terms of volume shipped were providers located in Saudi Arabia (down -29% from 2022), Netherlands (down -21.3%), India (down -20%), South Korea (down -17.6%) then the United Kingdom (down -13.7%).

Average Prices for Top Aluminum Exporters

The worldwide average price for aluminum exported during 2022 was an estimated $3,061 per ton.

That average unit price reflects a flatlining 1.4% inflation rate compared to $3,020 per ton in 2021.

Below are the average unit prices per ton of exported aluminum for each of the top 20 shippers of aluminum during 2022. Note that the latest statistics for the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Italy, Spain and Vietnam were not available at time of article publication.

Entries are listed in descending order starting with countries that charge the highest average tonnage charges (excluding countries specified in the prior paragraph).

1. France: US$3,186 per ton of raw aluminum (down -3.5% from 2022)
2. Norway: $2,834 per ton (down -22%)
3. Canada: $2,822 per ton (down -17.8%)
4. Germany: $2,805 per ton (down -15.9%)
5. United Kingdom: $2,737 per ton (down -16.7%)
6. Netherlands: $2,726 per ton (down -19.6%)
7. Iceland: $2,719 per ton (down -22.7%)
8. Qatar: $2,665 per ton (2022 data unavailable)
9. South Africa: $2,648 per ton (up 33%)
10. United States of America: $2,584 per ton (down -23.2%)
11. Poland: $2,572 per ton (down -13.1%)
12. China: $2,534 per ton (down -18.7%)
13. New Zealand: $2,508 per ton (down -11%)
14. Oman: $2,469 per ton (down -16.9%)
15. India: $2,432 per ton (down -16%)
16. Saudi Arabia: $2,425 per ton (up 8.3%)
17. Australia: $2,307 per ton (down -17.6%)
18. Brazil: $2,218 per ton (down -22.1%)
19. Malaysia: $2,208 per ton (down -15.3%)
20. Mozambique: $755 per ton (down -58.4%)

The lowest average unit prices per ton were charged for aluminum exported from Mozambique, then Malaysia far behind in second place.

The highest average prices were paid to aluminum suppliers located in France, Norway, Canada and Germany.

Only two top suppliers boosted their average unit prices for aluminum exports, namely South Africa (up 33% from 2022) and Saudi Arabia (up 8.3%).

Major Aluminum Exporting Companies

Below are global aluminum-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of aluminum. The home country for each selected aluminum producer or rolling company is shown within parenthesis.

• Alcoa (United States)
• Alumina Limited (Australia)
• Chalco (China)
• Emirates Global Aluminium (United Arab Emirates)
• Hindalco Industries (India)
• Norsk Hydro ASA (Norway)
• United Company RUSAL (Russia)

 

See also Iron Ore Exports by Country, Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country and US Aluminum Imports by Supplying Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Wikipedia, Aluminium. Accessed on July 24, 2023

Wikipedia, Category:Aluminum companies by country. Accessed on July 24, 2023