René Muschter
Research Expert covering Industry & Mobility
Rare earth trade worldwide - statistics & facts
Global rare earth trade reached a peak value of approximately 3.67 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 before declining by roughly 30 percent in terms of value to 2.57 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The trade landscape is defined not just by who mines rare earths but by the concentrated flows of raw and processed materials between a handful of key nations. Myanmar leads all countries by export share at nearly 32 percent of global rare earth metal exports in 2024, ahead of China at 16 percent and Malaysia at 15 percent. These figures, however, only partially capture the picture: China simultaneously dominates the import side of the equation, functioning as the world's primary processing hub for materials sourced from across the region. Understanding rare earth trade therefore means looking at both directions of flow and the enormous leverage that processing capacity confers.
