5 Largest Pig Iron Producing Countries

3. Japan

Production of Pig Iron in 2022: 71 million tons

Despite being the third-largest producer of pig iron in the world, Japan had a negative trade balance of $36.8 million in 2021. This is mostly due to huge local demand, since Japan is also the third-largest steel producer in the world. However, according to OEC, this trend is changing, as between February 2022 and February 2023, the exports of pig iron from Japan have increased by 757%, while imports decreased by 67.1%. This could mainly be attributed to the gap left in the market as buyers move away from Russia and look for supplies elsewhere.