Data extracted in October 2024
Planned article update: June 2025
Highlights
In 2023, the EU was heavily dependent on China for imports of magnesium, germanium and gallium.
In 2023, the EU was heavily dependent on Brazil for imports of ferro-niobium and on Türkiye for imports of borates.
In 2023, 94% of EU imports of rare earth elements came from China, Malaysia and Russia combined.
Critical raw materials are essential to the EU's economic strength and strategic autonomy. They are indispensable for a broad range of strategic sectors including the net zero industry, the digital industry, aerospace, and defence sectors, and stand at the very beginning of each value chain. Amongst the non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials that are assessed by the European Commission, some are defined as critical based on objective criteria, including their economic importance and their supply risk.
The EU is heavily dependent on imports of certain raw materials. In most cases, production within the EU is small and mostly involves processing and much less mining or extraction. Additionally, imports are often concentrated in 1 or 2 partners, which makes the EU vulnerable to supply disruptions in critical technology sectors.
This article provides data on certain critical raw materials, selected based on their supply chain risks or recent restrictions introduced by key partner countries.
The main findings are the following:
- The volume of EU imports of critical raw materials decreased between 2019 and 2023, except for natural graphite and REE+ (from 2021 to 2023)
- For magnesium, ferro-niobium, borates and gallium, the main partner accounted for more than 75% of total EU imports
- The import prices of ferro-niobium, germanium, borates and gallium increased in 2023 while those of REE+, magnesium, antimony and natural graphite decreased.
Selection of critical raw materials for this article
Since 2011, an assessment report is published every 3 years which has the aim of assessing the materials considered as critical. In 2020, the European Commission made a foresight study of critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors in the EU. The document identifies 24 materials that are important for 3 sectors: renewables, e-mobility and defence & space. For each of these materials the supply risk was identified as shown in Figure 1. This article provides data on the materials with a very high or high supply risk. In addition, gallium, antimony and natural graphite are also analysed because of the restrictions announced by China on the export of these products as well as of germanium.
Figure 1 identifies 7 materials with very high or high supply risk: light rare earth elements (LREEs), heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), magnesium, niobium, germanium, borates and scandium. Due to data restrictions, it is not possible to identify LREEs and HREEs separately, nor is it possible to distinguish them from scandium and yttrium. Consequently, the LREEs, HREEs, scandium and yttrium are reported together as REE+. Furthermore, although niobium is a combination of several codes in the collection of trade data, due to data confidentiality, reporting in this article is restricted to ferro-niobium. Likewise, reporting for antimony is restricted to antimony oxides and unwrought antimony in powder form.
To summarise, in this article the following products will be discussed: rare earth elements including scandium and yttrium (REE+), magnesium, ferro-niobium, germanium, borates, gallium, antimony and natural graphite. All the materials analysed in this article were identified as critical in the EU assessment reports disseminated since 2011. The data will show the main supplying countries in 2023 as well as imports and exports for the period 2019 to 2023. A detailed list of the product codes making up the materials discussed in this article is presented in the section on data sources.
Rare earth elements, scandium and yttrium (REE+)
REE+ are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. They are used in everyday technologies like cellphones and computers but also in advanced medical technologies like MRIs, laser scalpels and even some cancer drugs. In defence applications, they are used in satellite communications, guidance systems and aircraft structures. They are critical in a number of green technologies, especially those that are going to support net zero carbon emissions goals, like wind turbines and electric vehicles.
The volume of imports of REE+ products increased significantly in 2022, but stabilised in 2023 while their price fell by 15% in 2023 (see Figure 2). The volume of exports of REE+ fell both in 2022 and in 2023. Their price fell by 11% in 2023 but was comparable with the price in 2021. In 2023, the ratio of imports to exports measured in volume was 3.3, meaning that the EU imported 3.3 tonnes for every tonne it exported. Aggregated data for the EU, prior to 2021 is not comparable with later data due to a shift in the level of confidential data.
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The bulk of EU imports of REE+ originated from China (39%), followed by Malaysia (33%) and Russia (22%). China was also the main partner for 10 of the 14 detailed products shown in Table 1. For most of the imported products, the concentration of imports, as measured by the share of the top-3 importers was more than 90%.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element which has applications in automotive, aerospace, electronics and biomedical industries. Even if magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust, it has been listed in the EU Critical Raw Materials list since 2011 because of the large EU dependency, especially for the extraction and processing stages.
Imports of magnesium remained stable in volume between 2019 and 2021 before increasing by 27% in 2022, but falling by 33% in 2023 (see Figure 3). For exports, although the quantity is significantly lower than for imports, a similar pattern is visible with an increase in 2022 followed by a drop in 2023. Between 2021 and 2022 prices for both imports (from 2.9 €/kg to 5.5 €/kg) and especially exports (from 3.2 €/kg to 7.4 €/kg) increased sharply and although falling in 2023, remained above 2021 levels.
For its imports of magnesium, the EU was extremely dependent on Chinese imports which made up 99% of all magnesium imports into the EU. In the case of magnesium, the ratio between imports and exports in quantity was equal to 6.3, which means that the EU imported 6.3 tonnes of magnesium against 1 tonne exported.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Ferro-niobium
Ferro-niobium is an important iron-niobium alloy, mainly used in the automotive, construction and steel industry. Ferro-niobium is considered a critical raw material, not only due to its supply risk but also due to its economic importance for the EU and limited substitutability by other raw materials.
Between 2019 and 2023, imports and exports of ferro-niobium were fairly stable (see Figure 4). However, import prices rose from €19.2 per kg to €25.8 per kg and export prices rose from €19.2 per kg to €27.5 per kg.
For its imports of ferro-niobium, the EU was very dependent on Brazilian imports which made up 87% of all ferro-niobium imports into the EU. Brazil was followed at some distance by Canada from where 13% of EU imports of ferro-niobium originated (see Table 3). The ratio between imports and exports is very high, equaling 10.9, which means that the EU imported almost 11 tonnes of ferro-niobium for each tonne it exported.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Germanium
Germanium is used in high technology applications such as infrared systems, fibre optics, polymer catalysis, electronics and solar cells. Its demand is expected to increase due to the lack of suitable substitutes and increasing demand for solar cells and 5G networks.
Imports of germanium increased significantly between 2019 and 2022, but dropped back to 2019 values in 2023 (see Figure 5). Exports of germanium fell slowly between 2019 and 2023.
Two-thirds of germanium imports originated from China followed at some distance by Australia (11%) and Japan (10%). Combined, these top-3 countries accounted for 87% of all EU imports (see Table 4). The ratio between imports and exports was high with a value of 7.4.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Borates
Borates are a key input material in the production of fibreglass insulation, textile fibreglass, borosilicate glass, ceramics and fertilisers. Borates can also be found in many automotive parts, notably in many components for electric cars, playing a key role for the transition of the EU to green mobility.
In 2023, EU imports of borates amounted to 424 000 tonnes while exports amounted to 42 000 tonnes, meaning that for every tonne exported, 10 tonnes were imported. Unfortunately due to partial data confidentiality, data prior to 2023 is not comparable with 2023 data in a meaningful way.
Türkiye is the largest origin for 5 of the 10 borates shown in Table 5 and also occurs as 1 of the top-5 partners for all but 1 of the other borates. Overall, 76% of borates originated from Türkiye, followed by the United States with 19%.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Gallium
Gallium compounds are widely used in smartphones, satellites, radar systems, LEDs and photovoltaics. Imports of gallium increased from 26 tonnes in 2019 to 51 tonnes in 2022 (see Figure 6). In the same period exports increased from 4 tonnes to 29 tonnes. However, in 2023 both imports (-57%) and exports (-62%) fell sharply. Both import and export prices of gallium increased strongly in 2022 and continued to increase in 2023.
For its imports of gallium, the EU was extremely dependent on Chinese imports being the origin of 79% of all gallium imports into the EU in 2023 (see Table 6). Russia was the second largest partner with 13%.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Antimony
Antimony trioxide is used in flame retardants. It is also alloyed with lead to produce batteries used in vehicles, back-up power systems and other industrial applications. Imports of antimony fell from 25 000 tonnes in 2019 to 20 000 tonnes in 2023 (see Figure 7). In the same period exports fell from 8 000 tonnes to 7 000 tonnes. Both import and export prices of antimony increased strongly between 2019 and 2022 but dropped somewhat in 2023.
EU imports of antimony, came primarily from Tajikistan, being the origin of 42% of all antimony imports into the EU in 2023 (see Table 7). China and Vietnam followed with 25% and 10% respectively.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Natural graphite
Natural graphite is used in steel production and as a dry lubricant in mechanical applications. It is also a key material in the production of lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in electric vehicles (EVs) and portable electronics.
Imports of natural graphite increased from 98 tonnes in 2019 to 163 tonnes in 2023 (see Figure 8). In the same period exports increased from 9 000 tonnes to 10 000 tonnes. Export prices almost tripled between 2022 and 2023, while import prices dropped by 42%.
More than half of EU imports of natural graphite came from Norway (56%) as shown in Table 8. China (14%) and Mozambique (11%) were the next largest partners. The ratio between imports and exports is extremely high, equaling 16.5, which means that the EU imported 16.5 tonnes of natural graphite for each tonne it exported.
(data in tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (ds-045409)
Source data for tables and graphs
<datadetails>
Data sources
Trade data is taken from Eurostat's COMEXT database. COMEXT is the reference database for international trade in goods. It provides access not only to both recent and historical data from the EU countries but also to statistics of a significant number of non-EU countries. International trade aggregated and detailed statistics disseminated via the Eurostat website are compiled from COMEXT data according to a monthly process.
One of the product codes for international trade of germanium used in 2019 to 2021, namely 81129920 contains both germanium and hafnium. In 2022 this code was split into 2 separate codes for hafnium (81123900) and for germanium (81129940). Using the ratio of the 2 codes from 2022, the 2019 to 2021 data for code 81129920 was adjusted.
Table 7 provides the detailed description of the product codes used in this article.
Source: Official Journal L273 and Official Journal L385
</datadetails>
Context
Raw materials are crucial to Europe's economy. They form a strong industrial base, producing a broad range of goods and applications used in everyday life and modern technologies. Reliable and unhindered access to certain raw materials is a growing concern within the EU and across the globe. To address this challenge, the European Commission has created a list of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU, which is subject to a regular review and update. CRMs combine raw materials of high importance to the EU economy and of high risk associated with their supply.