India’s critical mineral trade is more focussed on raw material than products

India's critical mineral trade is more focused on raw material exports

India may not have a critical role in global critical mineral supply chain as it ranks 27th in exports but it has found market in European Union, Japan and the US, a Moneycontrol analysis has found.

Of the $1.1 billion worth of critical minerals and products exported by India in 2023, 37 percent was shipped to EU, the US and Japan. Indonesia and China were the fourth and fifth largest importer of Indian products.

Along with the scale of critical mineral exports — China ships nearly over 100-fold more than India at $131 billion— the two countries also differ on the nature of exports.

In the case of China, finished products accounted for nearly 80 percent of exports, whereas India’s trade was more raw material focussed.

Over three-fourths of India’s exports in 2023 were in the form of raw materials, with battery materials having nearly half the share at $595 million. The remaining was accounted for by raw materials and processed mineral at $349 million.

India ranks ninth in the world in export of raw materials such as lithium and cobalt, thirteenth in processed minerals and 21st in battery materials.

Demand has been growing for lithium and cobalt are essential materials for batteries which finds use in a range of products from electric vehicles, smartphones, computers to toys.

While Asia and Middle East dominate the raw material imports from India, developed economies and China lead in intermediate and processed goods.

Japan and Indonesia accounted for nearly 40 percent of India’s exports of raw materials. Qatar and Saudi Arabia had a 23 percent share, while Bahrain imported 7.4 percent of Indian raw materials.

The US and the EU led in imports of processed minerals from India and also accounted for 97 percent of battery material imports.

Moneycontrol reported earlier that China accounts for 30 percent of the critical mineral supply chain, as it holds nearly 60 percent share of global exports of processed minerals and over 25 percent of finished products such as battery packs and electric vehicles.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reduce his country’s reliance on China for critical minerals.