Year over year, the value of exported lead rose by 7% compared to $8.6 billion during 2022.
Lead is an easily worked and corrosion-resistant metal. It used to make pipes, paint, car batteries, ammunition, cable sheathing, radiation protection and in some solders. Lead containers store corrosive liquids.
The 5 biggest exporters of lead by value are South Korea, Australia, India, United Kingdom and Germany. Combined, that quintet of leading international suppliers generated over one-third (36.9%) of overall sales for exported lead during 2023.
Among continents, Asian countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported lead during 2023 with shipments valued at $3.7 billion or 40.3% of the overall total. In second place were exporters located in Europe at 36.1% while 9.4% of worldwide lead shipments originated from North America. Another 8.3% were shipped from Oceania mostly Australia.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Africa (4.1%), then Latin America (1.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Exports by Type of Lead
Breaking down all lead sold on international markets into its product subcategories, the top seller was unwrought lead at 83.1% of the global total. In second place was lead waste and scrap (8.9%) trailed by then lead plates, sheets, strips, foil, powders and flakes (4.3%) ahead of miscellaneous articles made from lead (3.7%).
For research purposes, the general 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for lead is 78.
Top Lead Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of lead (including articles made from lead) during 2023.
- South Korea: US$829.1 million (9% of total lead exports)
- Australia: $755.4 million (8.2%)
- India: $718.7 million (7.8%)
- United Kingdom: $603 million (6.6%)
- Germany: $478.5 million (5.2%)
- mainland China: $472.1 million (5.1%)
- Belgium: $409.4 million (4.5%)
- Canada: $400.9 million (4.4%)
- Malaysia: $302.4 million (3.3%)
- France: $246.5 million (2.7%)
- United States: $235.4 million (2.6%)
- Poland: $233.1 million (2.5%)
- Mexico: $223.9 million (2.4%)
- Bulgaria: $211.1 million (2.3%)
- Sweden: $181.3 million (2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped over two-thirds (68.7%) of globally exported lead in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of lead since 2022 were: India (up 52.6%), mainland China (up 50.6%), Malaysia (up 30.1%) and Germany (up 22.7%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of lead were led by: Sweden (down -16.9% from 2022), Mexico (down -16.9%), Bulgaria (down -10.4%), Poland (down -6.7%) and Australia (down -3.2%).
Searchable List of Lead Exporting Countries
By dollar value, the 100 suppliers highlighted in the automated database below sold 99.8% of globally exported lead in 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Lead Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Korea | $829,067,000 | +2.9% |
| 2. | Australia | $755,400,000 | -3.2% |
| 3. | India | $718,701,000 | +52.6% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $602,980,000 | -1.6% |
| 5. | Germany | $478,523,000 | +22.7% |
| 6. | mainland China | $472,066,000 | +50.6% |
| 7. | Belgium | $409,383,000 | +8.1% |
| 8. | Canada | $400,878,000 | +3.1% |
| 9. | Malaysia | $302,358,000 | +30.1% |
| 10. | France | $246,512,000 | +0.3% |
| 11. | United States | $235,419,000 | +22% |
| 12. | Poland | $233,087,000 | -6.7% |
| 13. | Mexico | $223,934,000 | -16.9% |
| 14. | Bulgaria | $211,117,000 | -10.4% |
| 15. | Sweden | $181,324,000 | -16.9% |
| 16. | Kazakhstan | $148,293,000 | -13% |
| 17. | Japan | $147,951,000 | +13.7% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $142,041,000 | +4.5% |
| 19. | Netherlands | $132,265,000 | -5.5% |
| 20. | United Arab Emirates | $129,049,000 | +32.2% |
| 21. | Taiwan | $117,778,000 | +48.2% |
| 22. | Saudi Arabia | $103,900,000 | -17.7% |
| 23. | Nigeria | $97,966,000 | -8.3% |
| 24. | Italy | $91,636,000 | -19.6% |
| 25. | Spain | $75,746,000 | +21.6% |
| 26. | Türkiye | $70,008,000 | +12.1% |
| 27. | Lebanon | $67,772,000 | +20.8% |
| 28. | Philippines | $64,717,000 | +26.9% |
| 29. | Ireland | $61,395,000 | -1.1% |
| 30. | Austria | $57,758,000 | +8.2% |
| 31. | Vietnam | $56,974,000 | +33% |
| 32. | Greece | $54,593,000 | +21.6% |
| 33. | Portugal | $51,368,000 | +71.7% |
| 34. | Ecuador | $47,525,000 | -5% |
| 35. | Ghana | $47,031,000 | +6.5% |
| 36. | Cambodia | $45,842,000 | +76.6% |
| 37. | Israel | $45,459,000 | +29.2% |
| 38. | Belarus | $42,611,000 | +418.4% |
| 39. | Pakistan | $38,991,000 | -12.4% |
| 40. | South Africa | $38,579,000 | -3.8% |
| 41. | Thailand | $38,213,000 | +27.2% |
| 42. | Romania | $38,106,000 | +4.2% |
| 43. | Indonesia | $35,632,000 | +167.8% |
| 44. | Laos | $35,362,000 | +91.7% |
| 45. | Singapore | $32,228,000 | -41.6% |
| 46. | Serbia | $31,039,000 | +8.5% |
| 47. | Myanmar | $30,072,000 | -11.6% |
| 48. | Russia | $29,285,000 | -65.1% |
| 49. | Algeria | $28,885,000 | +62.8% |
| 50. | Chile | $28,253,000 | -4.5% |
| 51. | Tanzania | $27,564,000 | +2% |
| 52. | Libya | $26,133,000 | +103.7% |
| 53. | Estonia | $25,584,000 | -10.5% |
| 54. | Peru | $22,198,000 | +3.2% |
| 55. | Costa Rica | $19,006,000 | +8.4% |
| 56. | Qatar | $19,003,000 | +26.4% |
| 57. | Senegal | $16,527,000 | +28.5% |
| 58. | Iraq | $15,693,000 | -24.6% |
| 59. | Jordan | $15,366,000 | +11.4% |
| 60. | Ukraine | $14,779,000 | +20.6% |
| 61. | Azerbaijan | $14,600,000 | +26.3% |
| 62. | Zambia | $13,807,000 | -21.5% |
| 63. | Brazil | $13,788,000 | -11.3% |
| 64. | Croatia | $13,336,000 | +7.4% |
| 65. | Slovenia | $13,336,000 | +8% |
| 66. | Finland | $12,011,000 | -30% |
| 67. | Tajikistan | $11,743,000 | +1.5% |
| 68. | Rwanda | $11,413,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Paraguay | $11,335,000 | +55.8% |
| 70. | Iran | $11,170,000 | -82.6% |
| 71. | Sri Lanka | $10,651,000 | -12.6% |
| 72. | Lithuania | $10,570,000 | -32.5% |
| 73. | Kyrgyzstan | $10,274,000 | +38.9% |
| 74. | Cameroon | $10,131,000 | +14.6% |
| 75. | Slovakia | $9,306,000 | +25.1% |
| 76. | Albania | $8,953,000 | -4.4% |
| 77. | Mozambique | $8,953,000 | -37.5% |
| 78. | Colombia | $8,785,000 | +210.2% |
| 79. | Georgia | $8,343,000 | +5.7% |
| 80. | Afghanistan | $7,818,000 | +32.8% |
| 81. | Nepal | $7,797,000 | -5.2% |
| 82. | Sudan | $7,720,000 | -57.1% |
| 83. | Venezuela | $7,395,000 | -16.6% |
| 84. | Hong Kong | $7,314,000 | +161.1% |
| 85. | Switzerland | $6,930,000 | -9.3% |
| 86. | Panama | $6,728,000 | +26% |
| 87. | Angola | $6,484,000 | +593.5% |
| 88. | El Salvador | $5,977,000 | +60.3% |
| 89. | Mali | $5,920,000 | +177.3% |
| 90. | Oman | $5,721,000 | -22.4% |
| 91. | Kuwait | $5,620,000 | +85.5% |
| 92. | Denmark | $5,239,000 | -6.3% |
| 93. | Norway | $5,064,000 | +88.9% |
| 94. | Guinea | $5,059,000 | +892% |
| 95. | Armenia | $4,997,000 | +183.9% |
| 96. | Hungary | $4,925,000 | -31.8% |
| 97. | Latvia | $4,921,000 | +225% |
| 98. | Yemen | $4,435,000 | -18.8% |
| 99. | Honduras | $4,387,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Ivory Coast | $4,053,000 | +159.5% |
Focusing on the top 100 major exporters of lead, the fastest growers were Guinea (up 892% from 2022), Angola (up 593.5%), Belarus (up 418.4%), Latvia (up 225%) then Colombia (up 210.2%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2022 data was unavailable.
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Lead
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for lead 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 lead and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$747.9 million (net export surplus down -2.2% since 2022)
- South Korea: $493.9 million (up 21.7%)
- Canada: $371.9 million (up 2.2%)
- mainland China: $365.6 million (up 66.2%)
- Belgium: $238.5 million (up 6.1%)
- Malaysia: $174.4 million (up 128.4%)
- United Kingdom: $150.8 million (down -6.9%)
- Sweden: $145 million (down -22.5%)
- Mexico: $138.7 million (down -28.7%)
- Kazakhstan: $129.4 million (down -21.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: $98.5 million (down -9.4%)
- Nigeria: $97.8 million (down -8.3%)
- Bulgaria: $96.9 million (down -26.1%)
- France: $70.6 million (up 4.8%)
- Japan: $66.8 million (up 40.8%)
Australia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of lead. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Australia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Facing Worst Trade Deficits from Lead
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for lead 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 lead purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$1.1 billion (net export deficit down -21.9% since 2022)
- Vietnam: -$411.4 million (down -17.7%)
- Türkiye: -$315.7 million (down -19.9%)
- Italy: -$305.4 million (up 119.6%)
- Singapore: -$275.9 million (reversing a $17.6 million surplus)
- India: -$271.5 million (down -7.2%)
- Spain: -$244.5 million (up 11.4%)
- Czech Republic: -$232.3 million (down -9.6%)
- Germany: -$203.1 million (down -24.3%)
- Brazil: -$131.3 million (down -10.9%)
- Greece: -$128.7 million (up 5.4%)
- Thailand: -$122.0 million (down -17.0%)
- Taiwan: -$120.9 million (up 79.8%)
- Bangladesh: -$88.1 million (up 162.1%)
- Slovenia: -$81.7 million (down -28.4%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of lead. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for lead-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Lead Exporting Companies
Below are lead businesses that represent established players engaged in the international trade of lead. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.
- EaglePicher Technologies (United States)
- Glencore plc (United Kingdom/Switzerland)
- NL Industries (United States)
- Ryazan Plant (Russia)
See also Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Aluminum Exporters by Country, Copper Ore Exports by Country, Top Nickel Exporters by Country and Iron Ore Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on November 6, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 6, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 6, 2024
Royal Society of Chemistry, Periodic Table: Lead. Accessed on November 6, 2024
Wikipedia, Lead. Accessed on November 6, 2024