Other critical minerals
Chromium (Cr)
Stainless steel and superalloys; chromite for refractories and chemicals.
Open in the explorer- Atomic number
- 24
- Period · group
- 4 · 6
- Block
- d-block
Why it is critical
No practical substitute in stainless steel; ore supply is concentrated.
Who trades chromium
$19 bn of chromium products crossed borders in 2024: intermediates $9.8 bn · ores and concentrates $8.4 bn · refined metal $598 m.
Largest exporters
- 1South Africa$12 bn62%
- 2Kazakhstan$2.4 bn13%
- 3India$821 m4%
- 4Türkiye$606 m3%
- 5Zimbabwe$534 m3%
- 6China$377 m2%
- 7Finland$349 m2%
- 8Russia$312 m2%
Largest importers
- 1China$8.5 bn45%
- 2Mozambique$3.1 bn17%
- 3Indonesia$1.2 bn7%
- 4United States of America$863 m5%
- 5Japan$843 m4%
- 6Netherlands$525 m3%
- 7South Korea$519 m3%
- 8Germany$355 m2%
Trade values in current US dollars (ores, concentrates, intermediates, chemicals and refined metal), not prices. Source: CEPII BACI (HS22), Etalab Open Licence 2.0 — details.