# Ores, slag and ash (HS2 26) Sector Trade Overview | Yugalinks

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Ores, slag and ash at HS2 26, with reported global trade through 2024.

Canonical: https://www.yugalinks.com/trade/sector/hs2/26

## Answer

The ores, slag and ash sector recorded $349.1B in reported global trade in 2024, with +6.9% annual change.

## Key figures

| Measure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Latest reported trade | $349.1B |
| Latest annual change | +6.9% |
| Active exporters | 171 |
| Active importers | 194 |
| Active HS6 products | 37 |

## Annual trend

| Year | Global trade | Corridors | HS6 products |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1995 | $24.0B | 2,691 | 37 |
| 1996 | $23.7B | 2,568 | 37 |
| 1997 | $24.6B | 2,589 | 37 |
| 1998 | $23.1B | 2,710 | 37 |
| 1999 | $22.7B | 2,867 | 37 |
| 2000 | $28.4B | 3,259 | 37 |
| 2001 | $28.4B | 3,323 | 37 |
| 2002 | $28.3B | 3,288 | 37 |
| 2003 | $34.0B | 3,298 | 37 |
| 2004 | $54.0B | 3,443 | 37 |
| 2005 | $78.7B | 3,677 | 37 |
| 2006 | $104.9B | 3,829 | 37 |
| 2007 | $135.5B | 3,924 | 37 |
| 2008 | $168.9B | 3,884 | 37 |
| 2009 | $125.9B | 3,784 | 37 |
| 2010 | $203.6B | 3,958 | 37 |
| 2011 | $274.5B | 4,342 | 37 |
| 2012 | $244.2B | 4,361 | 37 |
| 2013 | $254.9B | 4,291 | 37 |
| 2014 | $232.8B | 4,360 | 37 |
| 2015 | $165.0B | 4,514 | 37 |
| 2016 | $159.6B | 4,470 | 37 |
| 2017 | $207.6B | 4,373 | 37 |
| 2018 | $222.9B | 4,633 | 37 |
| 2019 | $246.4B | 4,623 | 37 |
| 2020 | $266.3B | 4,311 | 37 |
| 2021 | $390.8B | 4,493 | 37 |
| 2022 | $331.4B | 4,572 | 37 |
| 2023 | $341.7B | 4,633 | 37 |
| 2024 | $349.1B | 4,461 | 37 |

## Growth and market structure

- Trend: Declining
- Three-year CAGR: -3.7%
- Five-year CAGR: +7.2%
- Historical peak: $390.8B in 2,021
- Positive-growth years: 89.7%
- Exporter concentration HHI: 2,077.7
- Importer concentration HHI: 3,013.5
- Trade volatility coefficient: 0.7

## Leading corridors

| Rank | Exporter | Importer | Trade value | Growth | HS6 products | Distance | FTA |
| ---: | --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Australia | China | $76.3B | -9% | 21 | 8,024 km | Yes |
| 2 | Brazil | China | $24.5B | -8.5% | 20 | 18,570 km | No |
| 3 | Peru | China | $22.0B | +11% | 12 | 17,167 km | Yes |
| 4 | Chile | China | $21.8B | -0.4% | 9 | 18,861 km | Yes |
| 5 | South Africa | China | $9.7B | +1.9% | 21 | 11,775 km | No |
| 6 | Australia | Japan | $7.1B | -15.7% | 16 | 8,156 km | Yes |
| 7 | Guinea | China | $6.6B | +55.4% | 4 | 13,441 km | No |
| 8 | Australia | Republic of Korea | $6.6B | -14.1% | 20 | 8,549 km | Yes |
| 9 | Chile | Japan | $5.7B | +5.4% | 6 | 17,242 km | Yes |
| 10 | Mexico | China | $5.6B | +4% | 12 | 12,928 km | No |

## Leading exporters

| Rank | Country | Exports | Partners | HS6 products |
| ---: | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1 | Australia | $97.3B | 72 | 37 |
| 2 | Brazil | $40.5B | 84 | 37 |
| 3 | Chile | $33.7B | 48 | 37 |
| 4 | Peru | $29.5B | 40 | 34 |
| 5 | South Africa | $19.4B | 109 | 37 |
| 6 | Canada | $12.0B | 70 | 37 |
| 7 | Mexico | $9.7B | 46 | 37 |
| 8 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands | $9.1B | 115 | 37 |
| 9 | Indonesia | $9.1B | 44 | 33 |
| 10 | Guinea | $7.6B | 15 | 13 |

## Leading importers

| Rank | Country | Imports | Partners | HS6 products |
| ---: | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1 | China | $219.6B | 134 | 37 |
| 2 | Japan | $25.2B | 68 | 36 |
| 3 | Republic of Korea | $17.9B | 99 | 35 |
| 4 | Germany | $7.7B | 97 | 37 |
| 5 | India | $6.2B | 105 | 36 |
| 6 | Spain | $4.6B | 90 | 37 |
| 7 | Netherlands | $4.0B | 109 | 37 |
| 8 | Canada | $3.6B | 94 | 37 |
| 9 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands | $3.4B | 89 | 37 |
| 10 | Taiwan | $3.2B | 57 | 33 |

## HS6 products

- Iron ores and concentrates: non-agglomerated (HS6 260111)
- Iron ores and concentrates: agglomerated (excluding roasted iron pyrites) (HS6 260112)
- Iron pyrites: roasted (HS6 260120)
- Manganese ores and concentrates, including ferruginous manganese ores and concentrates with a manganese content of 20% or more, calculated on the dry weight (HS6 260200)
- Copper ores and concentrates (HS6 260300)
- Nickel ores and concentrates (HS6 260400)
- Cobalt ores and concentrates (HS6 260500)
- Aluminium ores and concentrates (HS6 260600)
- Lead ores and concentrates (HS6 260700)
- Zinc ores and concentrates (HS6 260800)
- Tin ores and concentrates (HS6 260900)
- Chromium ores and concentrates (HS6 261000)
- Tungsten ores and concentrates (HS6 261100)
- Uranium ores and concentrates (HS6 261210)
- Thorium ores and concentrates (HS6 261220)
- Molybdenum ores and concentrates: roasted (HS6 261310)
- Molybdenum ores and concentrates: other than roasted (HS6 261390)
- Titanium ores and concentrates (HS6 261400)
- Zirconium ores and concentrates (HS6 261510)
- Niobium, tantalum, vanadium ores and concentrates (HS6 261590)
- Silver ores and concentrates (HS6 261610)
- Precious metal ores and concentrates: (excluding silver) (HS6 261690)
- Antimony ores and concentrates (HS6 261710)
- Ores and concentrates n.e.c. in chapter 26: other than antimony (HS6 261790)
- Slag, granulated (slag sand): from the manufacture or iron or steel (HS6 261800)
- Slag, dross: (other than granulated slag), scalings and other waste from the manufacture of iron or steel (HS6 261900)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly zinc, hard zinc spelter (HS6 262011)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly zinc, other than hard zinc spelter (HS6 262019)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly lead (HS6 262020)
- Ash and residues: (other than from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly lead: leaded gasoline sludges and leaded anti-knock compound sludges (HS6 262021)
- Ash and residues: (other than from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly lead: excluding leaded gasoline sludges and leaded anti-knock compound sludges (HS6 262029)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly copper (HS6 262030)
- Slag, ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly aluminium (HS6 262040)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly vanadium (HS6 262050)
- Slag, ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing arsenic, mercury, thallium or their mixtures, of a kind used for the extraction of arsenic or those metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds (HS6 262060)
- Ash and residues: (not from the manufacture or iron or steel), containing mainly metals or metal compounds n.e.s. in heading no. 2620 (HS6 262090)
- Slag, ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing antimony, beryllium, cadmium, chromium or their mixtures (HS6 262091)
- Slag, ash and residues: (not from the manufacture of iron or steel), containing mainly metals or their compounds, n.e.c. in heading no. 2620 (HS6 262099)
- Slag and ash: including seaweed ash (kelp), n.e.s. in chapter 26 (HS6 262100)
- Slag and ash: ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste (HS6 262110)
- Slag and ash n.e.c. in chapter 26: including seaweed ash (kelp) but excluding ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste (HS6 262190)

## Definitions and coverage

Merchandise trade observations aggregated to HS2. Growth, concentration, volatility, and peak comparisons calculated from reported observations. Missing values remain unavailable and are not imputed.

Reported observations cover 1995-2024. The data release was refreshed 2026-07-20 09:34:08.

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## Data sources

- Primary trade series: OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-27). [OECD Data Explorer](https://data-explorer.oecd.org/) · [OECD Terms & Conditions](https://www.oecd.org/termsandconditions/)
- CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601): [dataset page](https://www.cepii.fr/CEPII/en/bdd_modele/bdd_modele_item.asp?id=37) · [BACI documentation](https://www.cepii.fr/DATA_DOWNLOAD/baci/doc/baci_webpage.html) · [Etalab 2.0 Open Licence](https://www.etalab.gouv.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/open-licence.pdf)

This page presents derived Yugalinks views of reported observations and calculated indicators.