10 Top Food Exporters in the World: A Comprehensive Guide
Food is one of the most traded commodities in the world, with a global export value of over $1.3 trillion in 2020. Food exports are essential for many countries to ensure food security, diversify their economies, and generate income. But which countries are the top food exporters in the world, and what are their main products? In this article, we will explore the 10 top food exporters in the world, based on the latest data from the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). We will also look at some of the trends, challenges, and opportunities for food trade in the 21st century.
What are food exports?
Food exports are the sales of food products from one country to another. Food products include both raw and processed agricultural commodities, such as cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs, honey, oilseeds, fats, oils, waxes, cocoa, sugar, confectionery, live animals, and various food preparations. Food exports do not include fish and seafood products, which are classified separately.
Why are food exports important?
Food exports are important for several reasons. First, food exports can help improve food security by increasing the availability and affordability of food in importing countries. Food trade can also reduce price volatility and mitigate the impacts of shocks such as droughts, floods, pests, diseases, and conflicts. Second, food exports can contribute to economic growth and development by creating jobs, income, and foreign exchange for exporting countries. Food trade can also stimulate investment in agriculture and agro-industry, enhance productivity and competitiveness, and foster innovation and technology transfer. Third, food exports can promote regional and global integration by strengthening trade relations and cooperation among countries. Food trade can also support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by addressing issues such as poverty, hunger, health, environment, and climate change.
Which countries are the top food exporters in the world?
According to the World Bank data for 2021, the top 10 food exporters in the world were:
- United States: $124 billion (10% of global food exports)
- Netherlands: $79 billion (6%)
- Brazil: $73 billion (6%)
- Germany: $70 billion (6%)
- France: $59 billion (5%)
- China: $58 billion (5%)
- Canada: $51 billion (4%)
- Belgium: $44 billion (4%)
- Spain: $43 billion (3%)
- Italy: $40 billion (3%)
These 10 countries accounted for 52% of the total value of global food exports in 2021.
What are the main products exported by these countries?
The main products exported by these countries vary depending on their comparative advantages, consumer preferences, and market opportunities. However, some general patterns can be observed based on the FAO data for 2020. The following table summarizes the main products exported by each of the top 10 food exporters in 2020:
| Country | Main products exported |
|---|---|
| United States | Meat ($23 billion), cereals ($22 billion), oilseeds ($21 billion), fruits and nuts ($16 billion), animal or vegetable fats ($12 billion) |
| Netherlands | Miscellaneous food preparations ($15 billion), dairy ($13 billion), vegetables ($12 billion), meat ($11 billion), cocoa ($9 billion) |
| Brazil | Meat ($18 billion), oilseeds ($17 billion), sugar ($9 billion), cereals ($8 billion), animal or vegetable fats ($7 billion) |
| Germany | Meat ($15 billion), dairy ($14 billion), miscellaneous food preparations ($12 billion), cereals ($9 billion), sugar ($7 billion) |
| France | Dairy ($13 billion), cereals ($11 billion), miscellaneous food preparations ($9 billion), beverages ($8 billion), meat ($7 billion) |
| China | Cereals ($11 billion), fruits and nuts ($10 billion), vegetables ($9 billion), fish ($8 billion), oilseeds ($7 billion) |
| Canada | Oilseeds ($16 billion), cereals ($11 billion), meat ($6 billion), animal or vegetable fats ($5 billion), fruits and nuts ($4 billion) |
| Belgium | Miscellaneous food preparations ($11 billion), cocoa ($8 billion), dairy ($6 billion), meat ($5 billion), cereals ($4 billion) |
| Spain | Fruits and nuts ($15 billion), vegetables ($9 billion), meat ($8 |
| billion), animal or vegetable fats ($5 billion), fish ($4 | |
| billion) | |
| Italy | Miscellaneous food preparations ($9 |
| billion), fruits and nuts | |
| ($7 billion), vegetables ($6 billion), dairy ($5 billion), cereals ($4 billion) |
What are the trends, challenges, and opportunities for food trade in the 21st century?
Food trade is expected to continue growing in the 21st century, driven by factors such as population growth, income growth, urbanization, dietary changes, technological innovation, and trade liberalization. However, food trade also faces several challenges, such as:
Food safety and quality standards
Food trade requires compliance with various food safety and quality standards, both national and international, to ensure consumer health and confidence. These standards can pose technical and financial barriers for some food exporters, especially developing countries and small-scale producers.
Trade disputes and protectionism
Food trade can be affected by trade disputes and protectionism, such as tariffs, quotas, subsidies, sanctions, and non-tariff measures. These measures can distort markets, reduce competitiveness, and harm producers and consumers. Food trade can also be influenced by geopolitical tensions and conflicts, which can disrupt supply chains and create uncertainty.
Climate change and environmental sustainability
Food trade can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment and climate change. On the one hand, food trade can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by optimizing production and transportation efficiency, as well as by diversifying sources of food supply. On the other hand, food trade can increase greenhouse gas emissions by increasing demand for food products that have high carbon footprints, such as meat and dairy. Food trade can also affect natural resources such as land, water, and biodiversity, by increasing pressure on scarce or fragile ecosystems.
To address these challenges and seize the opportunities for food trade in the 21st century, some possible actions include:
Enhancing food safety and quality systems
Food exporters need to invest in improving their food safety and quality systems, such as traceability, certification, testing, inspection, and risk management. Food importers need to harmonize their food safety and quality standards with international norms and best practices, as well as to facilitate market access for safe and quality food products from different sources.
Promoting fair and open trade
Food exporters and importers need to cooperate in resolving trade disputes and reducing protectionism, through multilateral or bilateral negotiations and agreements. They also need to support the rules-based trading system under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), which aims to promote fair and open trade in agricultural products.
Advancing climate-smart and sustainable agriculture
Food exporters and importers need to adopt climate-smart and sustainable agriculture practices, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience to climate shocks, improving resource efficiency, and conserving biodiversity. They also need to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Food exports are a vital component of global food security, economic development, and regional integration. The top 10 food exporters in the world are the United States, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. They export a variety of food products, such as meat, cereals, oilseeds, fruits and nuts, and dairy. Food trade faces several challenges, such as food safety and quality standards, trade disputes and protectionism, and climate change and environmental sustainability. To overcome these challenges and capitalize on the opportunities for food trade in the 21st century, food exporters and importers need to enhance their food safety and quality systems, promote fair and open trade, and advance climate-smart and sustainable agriculture.
Top Food Exporters: Trends and Statistics
Food is one of the most traded commodities in the world, with a total value of $1.314 trillion in 2020. This represents 7.5% of worldwide exports for all goods, and a 3.3% increase from 2019 to 2020. In this blog post, we will explore some of the trends and statistics of the global food trade, focusing on the top food exporters by product category and by country.
Top Food Exporters by Product Category
According to World’s Top Exports [1], the top food export categories in 2020 were:
- Meat: $134.7 billion (10.25% of globally exported food)
- Fruits, nuts: $133.9 billion (10.2%)
- Cereals: $119.4 billion (9.1%)
- Fish: $111.7 billion (8.5%)
- Oil seeds: $110 billion (8.4%)
These five categories accounted for almost half of the total food exports in 2020. The United States was the leading exporter for four of these categories, namely meat, fruits and nuts, cereals, and oil seeds. The only exception was fish, where China was the top exporter with $23.6 billion, followed by Norway with $21 billion.
The demand for these food products varies depending on the income level, dietary preferences, and population size of the importing countries. For example, meat exports are mainly driven by high-income countries that consume more animal protein, while cereals exports are influenced by low-income countries that rely on staple grains for food security.
Top Food Exporters by Country
According to FAO [2], the top ten food exporters (excluding fish) by country in 2020 were:
- United States: $124 billion (10% of the total)
- Netherlands: $79 billion (6%)
- Brazil: $73 billion (6%)
- China: $72 billion (6%)
- Germany: $66 billion (5%)
- France: $59 billion (5%)
- Canada: $49 billion (4%)
- Belgium: $46 billion (4%)
- Italy: $44 billion (3%)
- Spain: $43 billion (3%)
These ten countries accounted for more than half of the total food exports in 2020. The United States was the largest exporter of food, followed by the Netherlands and Brazil. The Netherlands is a major hub for re-exporting food products from other European countries, while Brazil is a major producer and exporter of soybeans, sugar, coffee, and meat.
The global food trade is influenced by various factors, such as production costs, exchange rates, trade policies, transportation infrastructure, and consumer preferences. The COVID-19 pandemic also had an impact on the food trade in 2020, causing disruptions in supply chains, changes in demand patterns, and fluctuations in prices.
The global food trade is a complex and dynamic system that involves many actors and products. The top food exporters in 2020 were the United States, the Netherlands, and Brazil, while the top food export categories were meat, fruits and nuts, and cereals. The demand for food products depends on various factors, such as income level, dietary preferences, and population size of the importing countries.
References:
http://faostat.fao.org/Portals/_Faostat/documents/pdf/FAOSTAT-Forestry-def-e.pdf
https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FO/visualize
https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL/visualize
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.GSR.GNFS.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.CD?locations=IR
https://www.fao.org/3/cb9928en/cb9928en.pdf
https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/WLD/Year/LTST/TradeFlow/Export/Partner/by-country/Product/16-24_FoodProd
https://www.fao.org/3/cb9928en/cb9928en.pdf
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