HS4 subsector intelligence

Plastics
HS4 3919 trade overview

A focused view of this HS4 subsector: market scale, momentum, leading routes, countries, and the HS6 classifications inside it.

HS4 39191995-2024 coverageStable
The numbers at a glanceLatest reported year · 2024
01

Latest trade

$26.8BGlobal subsector value
02

Annual change

+4.3%Latest year on year
03

Exporters

195Active reporting countries
04

Importers

200Active reporting countries
05

HS6 products

2Classifications inside HS4

The subsector read

$26.8B in trade, with +0.8% annualized growth over three years.

Plastics is recorded across 10,070 active corridors, with 195 exporters and 200 importers.

Annual trend

Subsector momentum over time

Reported global trade from 1995 to 2024. Read the methodology ↗

Annual subsector tradeReported global trade from 1995 to 2024.1995: $4.0B1996: $4.1B1997: $4.4B1998: $4.5B1999: $5.3B2000: $5.7B2001: $5.4B2002: $6.2B2003: $7.4B2004: $8.9B2005: $10.1B2006: $11.5B2007: $13.4B2008: $14.7B2009: $12.7B2010: $15.8B2011: $18.0B2012: $18.4B2013: $19.7B2014: $20.5B2015: $19.2B2016: $19.0B2017: $20.6B2018: $21.8B2019: $21.2B2020: $21.3B2021: $26.2B2022: $26.7B2023: $25.3B2024: $26.8B
Reported global trade by year.

Top trade corridors

Where the subsector moves

Leading exporter-to-importer relationships by latest reported value. See data sources ↗

Latest reported relationshipsTop 10 by trade value
RankExporterImporterTrade valueGrowthHS6DistanceFTA
1JapanJPNChinaCHN$1.1B-4.8%21,763 kmNo
2USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSAMexicoMEX$953.9M+4.6%23,359 kmYes
3Republic of KoreaKORChinaCHN$678.2M+3.5%2867 kmYes
4USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSACanadaCAN$590.6M+3.9%2556 kmYes
5ChinaCHNViet NamVNM$579.3M+10%22,732 kmYes
6ChinaCHNIndiaIND$418.0M+25.3%24,252 kmNo
7Republic of KoreaKORViet NamVNM$404.7M-3.3%23,599 kmYes
8JapanJPNRepublic of KoreaKOR$373.7M+4%21,155 kmNo
9ChinaCHNUSA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$373.2M-0.3%211,883 kmNo
10USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSAChinaCHN$348.6M-8.7%211,883 kmNo

Market structure

Where supply and demand concentrate

Exporter and importer rankings show the two sides of the subsector separately. Check coverage ↗

Top exporters2024 ranking
RankCountryExportsPartnersHS6
1ChinaCHN$6.0B2002
2USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$3.5B1792
3GermanyDEU$2.9B1762
4JapanJPN$2.7B1532
5Republic of KoreaKOR$1.9B1652
6ItalyITA$1.2B1622
7TaiwanTWN$875.1M1572
8FranceFRA$710.2M1772
9BelgiumBEL$640.2M1632
10United KingdomGBR$589.6M1692
Top importers2024 ranking
RankCountryImportsPartnersHS6
1ChinaCHN$3.0B1082
2USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$1.9B1242
3MexicoMEX$1.5B912
4GermanyDEU$1.5B1202
5Viet NamVNM$1.2B632
6FranceFRA$928.1M1172
7CanadaCAN$776.9M1122
8Republic of KoreaKOR$724.1M882
9IndiaIND$712.2M852
10United KingdomGBR$696.8M982

HS6 product coverage

The products inside HS4 3919

Six-digit classifications make the subsector specific. Browse the product workspace ↗

2 classifications shownPlastics
01
Plastics: plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip, other flat shapes thereof, self-adhesive, in rolls of a width not exceeding 20cmHS6 391910
02
Plastics: plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip, other flat shapes thereof, self-adhesive, other than in rolls of a width not exceeding 20cmHS6 391990

Definitions and coverage

Read the numbers with context

Reported observations and calculated indicators should be read with their coverage period. Responsible AI principles ↗

01

Reported values

Trade values describe reported merchandise trade for the HS4 classification, not company-level sales or shipment records.

02

Calculated indicators

Growth, concentration, volatility, and peak comparisons are calculated from reported observations.

03

Missing data

Unavailable observations remain unavailable. They are not filled, interpolated, or presented as forecasts.

Coverage: 1995-2024 · Data refreshed 2026-07-20 09:34:09

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-27). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.