Chain · Aluminium

Guinea ships two-thirds of the bauxite, nine-tenths of it to China (2024)

In 2024 Guinea’s share of bauxite exports reached 68%, up from 47% in 2019, and China bought 87% of all traded bauxite.

7stages from ore to product
$81.4bnlargest stage, 2024: Bars, profiles, sheet and foil
HHI 0.51chokepoint, 2024: Bauxite
Germany · GL 0.93most two-way stage, 2024: Aluminium scrap

YearFocus economy

The chain in 2024

Side input

Calcined petroleum coke (anode input)

2713.12

$3.2bn · $0.44/kgUSA 35%

S1 Bauxite

Bauxite

2606.00

$12.2bn · $0.07/kgGIN 68%

Chokepoint · HHI 0.51

S2 Alumina and scrap

Side input

Calcined petroleum coke (anode input)

2713.12

$3.2bn · $0.44/kgUSA 35%

Alumina

2818.20

$17.9bn · $0.49/kgAUS 35%

Aluminium scrap

7602.00

$23.7bn · $1.9/kgUSA 15%

S3 Unwrought aluminium

Unwrought aluminium

7601

$76.3bn · $2.6/kgCAN 11%

S4 Bars

Bars, profiles, sheet and foil

76047605760676077608

$81.4bn · $4.1/kgCHN 24%

S5 Products

Structures, cans and containers

76107612

$24.2bn · $6.7/kgCHN 21%

World trade and top exporter by stage, 2024; unit value where net weight covers at least 80% of value. Chokepoint: the stage worth at least $1bn with the highest exporter HHI, when above 0.25. Dashed: side inputs and feedstocks, which join from above. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Who trades each stage, 2024

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Size

Imports | ExportsHalf-disc area ∝ value; one scale for every year

Bauxite, 2024

World trade, 2024: $12.2bn

Top exporters, 2024

GIN 68%
AUS 19%
BRA 3%
TUR 2%
CHN 2%
Others 6%

Bauxite is the chain’s chokepoint in 2024: HHI 0.51, GIN 68% of exports.

The ring shows the stage of this chain the economy leads; a dashed rowan ring marks an economy with more than half of the stage’s exports. Click an economy to follow its flows (exports gold, imports teal).

Open in the explorer

Why do some economies both import and export the same stage?

Different goods under one code. A six-digit code can hold cheap and costly versions of a product: 2506.10 covers quartzite lumps and high-purity quartz worth many times more per kilogram.
Processing and hub trade. Goods come in, are refined or assembled, and go out again.
Firms and regions. Firms or regions within one economy buy and sell for their own reasons, such as a firm shipping inputs to its own plants abroad.
How trade is recorded. Under the mirror rule an economy’s imports may come from its own reports and its exports from its partners’; origin and consignment, re-exports and misclassification can make one side larger.

“↔ two-way” marks an economy whose Grubel–Lloyd index is at least 0.3 and whose exports and imports are each at least 2% of world trade in the stage. The sentences under a stage give the numbers, never the reason. How two-way trade is measured

S1 · BauxiteChokepoint

S1 · Bauxite

2606.00

World trade, 2024$12.2bn×1.7 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$0.07/kg2019: $0.05/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.51high · 2019: 0.29
78 exportersGIN 68%100% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	GIN Guinea	68.3	46.6
2	AUS Australia	19.4	22.9
3	BRA Brazil	2.5	5.8
4	TUR Türkiye	2.1	–
5	CHN China	1.8	2.9

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	CHN China	86.6	71.4
2	IND India	2.9	–
3	IRL Ireland	2.3	3.4
4	USA United States	1.4	2.9
5	CAN Canada	1.1	–

Bauxite, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Downstream · S2

Alumina$0.49/kg · AUS 35%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

The chain’s chokepoint in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

Source: UN Comtrade, monthly data, HS6; 12-month sum; one side per flow (the importer's report where it filed as many months). Korea, Jan–Jul 2026: Korea Customs Service, trade by item and country (data.go.kr), fetched 31 Oct 2026.

S2 · Alumina and scrap

S2 · Alumina

2818.20

World trade, 2024$17.9bn×1.1 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$0.49/kg2019: $0.41/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.18moderate · 2019: 0.21
95 exportersAUS 35%78% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	AUS Australia	34.8	41.0
2	BRA Brazil	18.8	16.2
3	IDN Indonesia	10.4	–
4	CHN China	7.2	–
5	IRL Ireland	4.2	4.3

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	RUS Russia	13.8	12.3
2	CAN Canada	12.5	9.1
3	BHR Bahrain	8.0	–
4	ARE UAE	7.4	14.3
5	NOR Norway	6.8	5.8

Indonesia imports $490m and exports $1.9bn of this stage. Imports average $0.46/kg, exports $0.47/kg. Main suppliers: Vietnam, Australia, China. Main buyers: Malaysia, India, Russia.

Alumina, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

What trade cannot see here

About two tonnes of alumina make one tonne of aluminium.

Upstream · S1

Bauxite$0.07/kg · GIN 68%

Downstream · S3

Unwrought aluminium$2.6/kg · CAN 11%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

S2 · Alumina and scrapSide input

S2 · Calcined petroleum coke (anode input)

2713.12

World trade, 2024$3.2bn×0.6 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$0.44/kg2019: $0.29/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.18moderate · 2019: 0.18
70 exportersUSA 35%90% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	USA United States	34.7	33.8
2	CHN China	18.9	13.9
3	GBR UK	9.6	17.9
4	OMN Oman	6.0	–
5	DEU Germany	5.6	–

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	AUS Australia	8.9	–
2	CAN Canada	7.6	–
3	IND India	7.6	11.9
4	ARE UAE	7.0	–
5	MOZ Mozambique	5.9	–

Australia imports $285m and exports $76m of this stage. Imports average $0.41/kg, exports $0.39/kg. Main suppliers: United States, China, Oman. Main buyers: Mozambique, Malaysia, New Zealand.

Calcined petroleum coke (anode input), 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Downstream · S3

Unwrought aluminium$2.6/kg · CAN 11%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

The chain’s chokepoint in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006.

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

S2 · Alumina and scrap

S2 · Aluminium scrap

7602.00

World trade, 2024$23.7bn×1.8 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$1.9/kg2019: $1.3/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.05unconcentrated · 2019: 0.06
201 exportersUSA 15%99% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	USA United States	15.0	17.5
2	DEU Germany	9.0	11.0
3	GBR UK	5.5	5.2
4	CAN Canada	5.4	5.9
5	NLD Netherlands	4.5	5.0

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	CHN China	15.6	14.2
2	IND India	15.4	15.1
3	DEU Germany	7.9	9.7
4	KOR Korea	7.4	8.1
5	USA United States	5.6	6.0

United States imports $1.3bn and exports $3.5bn of this stage. Imports average $2/kg, exports $1.9/kg. Main suppliers: Canada, Mexico, Germany. Main buyers: India, Korea, Malaysia.

Aluminium scrap, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Downstream · S3

Unwrought aluminium$2.6/kg · CAN 11%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

S3 · Unwrought aluminium

7601

World trade, 2024$76.3bn×1.5 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$2.6/kg2019: $2/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.05unconcentrated · 2019: 0.06
162 exportersCAN 11%98% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	CAN Canada	11.5	10.3
2	ARE UAE	9.8	9.5
3	RUS Russia	9.5	13.3
4	IND India	6.1	7.8
5	MYS Malaysia	5.6	–

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	USA United States	14.5	17.1
2	CHN China	10.4	–
3	DEU Germany	7.8	9.7
4	JPN Japan	6.9	9.1
5	KOR Korea	5.3	5.6

Malaysia imports $2.7bn and exports $4.3bn of this stage. Imports average $1.4/kg, exports $2.4/kg. Main suppliers: United States, India, Australia. Main buyers: China, Vietnam, Korea.

Unwrought aluminium, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Upstream · S2

Alumina$0.49/kg · AUS 35%Calcined petroleum coke (anode input)$0.44/kg · USA 35%Aluminium scrap$1.9/kg · USA 15%

Downstream · S4

Bars, profiles, sheet and foil$4.1/kg · CHN 24%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

S4 · Bars

S4 · Bars, profiles, sheet and foil

76047605760676077608

World trade, 2024$81.4bn×1.2 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$4.1/kg2019: $3.5/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.09unconcentrated · 2019: 0.08
193 exportersCHN 24%95% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	CHN China	23.9	20.5
2	DEU Germany	11.1	12.5
3	USA United States	6.2	7.5
4	KOR Korea	4.3	4.1
5	ITA Italy	4.0	4.2

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	USA United States	9.5	10.9
2	DEU Germany	8.6	9.7
3	MEX Mexico	6.0	5.2
4	FRA France	4.3	4.8
5	GBR UK	4.0	4.3

Germany imports $7.0bn and exports $9.0bn of this stage. Imports average $4.3/kg, exports $4.7/kg. Main suppliers: Austria, Italy, Switzerland. Main buyers: UK, France, Poland.

Bars, profiles, sheet and foil, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

Upstream · S3

Unwrought aluminium$2.6/kg · CAN 11%

Downstream · S5

Structures, cans and containers$6.7/kg · CHN 21%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

S5 · Products

S5 · Structures, cans and containers

76107612

World trade, 2024$24.2bn×1.4 vs 2019
Unit value, 2024$6.7/kg2019: $5.5/kg
Exporter concentration, 20240.07unconcentrated · 2019: 0.06
190 exportersCHN 21%95% of value from importers’ reports

Top exporters, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world exports, %	2019, %
1	CHN China	21.1	19.0
2	DEU Germany	9.2	11.1
3	USA United States	5.2	4.8
4	POL Poland	4.9	–
5	ITA Italy	4.0	4.7

Top importers, 2024

#	Economy	Share of world imports, %	2019, %
1	USA United States	13.5	11.4
2	DEU Germany	7.4	7.4
3	FRA France	6.7	5.3
4	GBR UK	5.2	5.9
5	CAN Canada	4.5	–

United States imports $3.3bn and exports $1.2bn of this stage. Imports average $8.1/kg, exports $9.7/kg. Main suppliers: Canada, Colombia, Mexico. Main buyers: Canada, Mexico, Bahamas.

Structures, cans and containers, 2024: shares of world exports and imports. Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

What trade cannot see here

Most aluminium ends inside cars, aircraft and machines, which are not counted here.

Upstream · S4

Bars, profiles, sheet and foil$4.1/kg · CHN 24%

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Exporter concentration (HHI), 1995–2025

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule.

World trade, 12-month sum, by month

How these numbers are made

Each chain has its own ladder of stages, one rung per step of production that customs records can see: four for clothing, eight for chips. Each stage is a set of six-digit HS codes, written down once with the rung it sits on and what else its code holds. World trade is the sum of bilateral flows under the mirror rule: the importer’s report where the importer reported that year, otherwise the exporter’s. Unit value is value over net weight, shown only where weight covers at least 80% of value. HHI is the sum of squared exporter shares; 0.15 and 0.25 mark moderate and high concentration.

Customs records see goods crossing a border, not what they were for. Production used at home, codes that hold two products and codes split by HS versions are named at the stage where they matter. Use shares, where a stage mostly goes elsewhere, come from dated sources outside trade; they scale the trail, never the map. The full method

Source: UN Comtrade, Final data, HS6; mirror rule. Updated 2 Nov 2026.