China dominates critical minerals supply chain with 30% share; India slips spots every stage of the network

Critical mineral trade is very China focused

China accounted for nearly a third of the share in the global supply chain of critical minerals valued at $450 billion in 2023, holding nearly 60 percent share in processed mineral exports of $14 billion, according to a Moneycontrol analysis of data from UN COMTRADE.

While the country was only the third largest exporter of critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt and graphite, it was the largest exporter of processed minerals with a 58.7 percent share in global exports in 2023. Chile was a distant second at 7.1 percent.

China also dominated the world in exports of battery materials that require the use of processed minerals with a 20.8 percent share of global trade, second only to South Korea with 21.6 percent.

However, it was the top exporter for both battery packs and electric vehicles (EVs) in 2023, accounting for 26.1 percent and 31.8 percent share, respectively, nearly twice as much as the second largest exporter in both categories.

A look at imports further cements the country’s dominance in critical mineral trade. It held a 62 percent share in raw material imports of lithium, cobalt and graphite, a 15 percent share in processed minerals and 17.5 percent in battery materials.

China ranked second in processed mineral trade and led the imports of battery materials.

On the other hand, in finished goods like battery packs and EVs, Western nations like the US, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy were the top importers.

The US, Germany, the UK and France accounted for over half of the world’s EV imports. Battery imports by Germany, the US and South Korea made for 40 percent of the world’s total.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week signed an executive order seeking to secure the country’s position in the global supply chain of critical minerals and wean itself from China dependence.

India has also been trying to carve out its space in the critical minerals supply chain, but analysis shows that it works rather as an importer of finished goods than as an exporter of intermediary material.

India’s position in critical mineral exports slips with each step of the supply chain. While India is the ninth largest exporter of raw material, it ranked 13th in processed mineral imports and 21st in supply of battery materials.

India was also the eighth largest exporter of battery packs, but 14th largest in battery materials.