Chocolate Exporters by Country

May 25, 2017 by

Chocolate Exporters by Country

Demand sweetens for chocolate

Global sales from chocolate exports by country amounted to US$26.4 billion in 2016.

Overall, the value of chocolate exports were up by an average 10.6% for all exporting countries since 2012 when chocolate shipments were valued at $23.9 billion. Year over year, the value of exported chocolate increased by 2.8% from 2012 to 2016.

Among continents, European countries accounted for the highest dollar in chocolate exports during 2016 with shipments amounting to $19.3 billion or 73.2% of overall exported chocolate sales. This compares with 14% from North America, 9% from Asia, 1.3% from Latin America (excluding Mexico) and Caribbean countries, and 1.3% from African chocolate exporters.

The 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 1806 for chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa.

Chocolate Exporters by Country

Countries

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2016:

  1. Germany: US$4.5 billion (17.1% of total chocolate exports)
  2. Belgium: $2.9 billion (11%)
  3. Netherlands: $1.8 billion (6.8%)
  4. Italy: $1.7 billion (6.3%)
  5. United States: $1.6 billion (6.1%)
  6. Poland: $1.6 billion (5.9%)
  7. Canada: $1.5 billion (5.6%)
  8. France: $1.4 billion (5.4%)
  9. United Kingdom: $878.8 million (3.3%)
  10. Switzerland: $802.2 million (3%)
  11. Mexico: $628.6 million (2.4%)
  12. Russia: $476.7 million (1.8%)
  13. Spain: $435.6 million (1.7%)
  14. Austria: $413.6 million (1.6%)
  15. Turkey: $403 million (1.5%)

The listed 15 countries shipped about four-fifths (79.4%) of all chocolate exports in 2016.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing chocolate exporters since 2012 were: Canada (up 44%), Poland (up 41.2%), Netherlands (up 37.3%) and Spain (up 20.5%).

Four countries posted declines in their exported chocolate sales: Turkey (down -15.8%), Russia (down -14.2%), France (down -6%) and Austria (down -1.7%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for chocolate during 2016. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s chocolate exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.

  1. Germany: US$2.1 billion (net export surplus up 8.2% since 2012)
  2. Belgium: $2.1 billion (up 12%)
  3. Italy: $1.1 billion (up 6.2%)
  4. Poland: $904.4 million (up 40.3%)
  5. Netherlands: $772.7 million (up 38.3%)
  6. Switzerland: $546.6 million (up 0.1%)
  7. Canada: $503.9 million (up 209.2%)
  8. Mexico: $348 million (up 129.2%)
  9. Turkey: $310.3 million (down -17.9%)
  10. Singapore: $163.8 million (up 5%)
  11. Côte d’Ivoire: $141.2 million (up 63.1%)
  12. Russia: $132.9 million (down -149.2%)
  13. Egypt: $70.3 million (up 263.7%)
  14. India: $50.4 million (down -278.8%)
  15. Argentina: $39.6 million (down -67.5%)

German and Belgian exporters generate the highest surplus in the international trade of chocolate. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Germany’s and Belgium’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

Opportunities

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for chocolate during 2016. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s chocolate import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

  1. United States: -US$1.1 billion (net export deficit up 51.6% since 2012)
  2. United Kingdom: -$1.1 billion (up 17.8%)
  3. France: -$679 million (up 140.3%)
  4. Saudi Arabia: -$562.5 million (up 12%)
  5. Japan: -$459.8 million (down -18.5%)
  6. South Korea: -$282.9 million (up 37.1%)
  7. Australia: -$270.6 million (up 17.7%)
  8. Hong Kong: -$242.9 million (up 45.4%)
  9. Spain: -$179.7 million (up 6.3%)
  10. Philippines: -$178.6 million (up 451.1%)
  11. Romania: -$177.6 million (up 61.6%)
  12. Portugal: -$173.8 million (up 6.4%)
  13. Kuwait: -$153.9 million (up 16%)
  14. Norway: -$144.4 million (down -5.8%)
  15. Denmark: -$124.9 million (down -0.1%)

International traders in America and the United Kingdom incurred the highest deficits for chocolate. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s and the UK’s strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for chocolate-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand from American and UK consumers.

Companies

Chocolate Exporting Companies

Based on the Candy Industry’s 2015 Top 100 Confectionery Companies in the World, below are the world’s largest conglomerates that produce chocolate bars and other cocoa-containing food preparations. Show within parenthesis is the country where each colossus is headquartered.

  • Mars Inc (United States)
  • Mondelez International (United States)
  • Ferrero Group (Italy)
  • Nestle SA (Switzerland)
  • Meiji Co Ltd (Japan)
  • Hershey Foods Corp (United States)
  • Chocoladenfabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG (Switzerland)
  • Arcor (Argentina)
  • Ezaki Glico Co Ltd (Japan)
  • August Storck KG (Germany)
  • United Confectionary Manufacturers (Russia)
  • Orion Corp (South Korea)
  • Yildiz Holding (Turkey)
  • Lotte Confectionery Co. Ltd (South Korea)
  • Crown Confectionery Co. Ltd (South Korea)
  • Cemoi (France)
  • Ferrara Candy Co (United States)


 

Searchable List of Chocolate Exporting Countries

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.

RankExporter2016 Chocolate Exports% World Total
1.GermanyUS$4.5 billion17.1%
2.Belgium$2.9 billion11%
3.Netherlands$1.8 billion6.8%
4.Italy$1.7 billion6.3%
5.United States$1.6 billion6.1%
6.Poland$1.6 billion5.9%
7.Canada$1.5 billion5.6%
8.France$1.4 billion5.4%
9.United Kingdom$878.8 million3.3%
10.Switzerland$802.2 million3%
11.Mexico$628.6 million2.4%
12.Russia$476.7 million1.8%
13.Spain$435.6 million1.7%
14.Austria$413.6 million1.6%
15.Turkey$403 million1.5%
16.Singapore$386.1 million1.5%
17.Czech Republic$368 million1.4%
18.United Arab Emirates$359 million1.4%
19.China$339.4 million1.3%
20.Sweden$305.7 million1.2%
21.Ireland$302.5 million1.1%
22.Slovakia$256.9 million1%
23.Hong Kong$204.4 million0.8%
24.Australia$185.9 million0.7%
25.Denmark$176.1 million0.7%
26.Hungary$169 million0.6%
27.Malaysia$160.2 million0.6%
28.Côte d'Ivoire$147.6 million0.6%
29.Lithuania$126.3 million0.5%
30.India$119 million0.5%
31.Bulgaria$114.6 million0.4%
32.Egypt$110.9 million0.4%
33.Croatia$110.8 million0.4%
34.New Zealand$104 million0.4%
35.Ukraine$95.2 million0.4%
36.Brazil$92.9 million0.4%
37.Argentina$90.2 million0.3%
38.Japan$84.9 million0.3%
39.Romania$78.7 million0.3%
40.Finland$74.1 million0.3%
41.Colombia$70.8 million0.3%
42.South Africa$57.1 million0.2%
43.South Korea$55.5 million0.2%
44.Serbia$53.6 million0.2%
45.Indonesia$46.7 million0.2%
46.Belarus$43.9 million0.2%
47.Greece$36.8 million0.1%
48.Lebanon$35.6 million0.1%
49.Thailand$33.6 million0.1%
50.Saudi Arabia$30.6 million0.1%
51.Latvia$30.2 million0.1%
52.Norway$28.2 million0.1%
53.Kazakhstan$27 million0.1%
54.Portugal$24.4 million0.1%
55.Ecuador$23.8 million0.1%
56.Israel$22 million0.1%
57.Chile$21.3 million0.1%
58.Slovenia$19.9 million0.1%
59.Bosnia/Herzegovina$16.1 million0.1%
60.Peru$14.5 million0.1%
61.Cameroon$12.4 million0.05%
62.Vietnam$12 million0.05%
63.Taiwan$11.7 million0.04%
64.Guatemala$11.3 million0.04%
65.Macedonia$10.7 million0.04%
66.Costa Rica$10 million0.04%
67.Estonia$9.8 million0.04%
68.Senegal$6.9 million0.03%
69.Moldova$6.7 million0.03%
70.Jordan$6.4 million0.02%
71.Luxembourg$6 million0.02%
72.Philippines$5.1 million0.02%
73.El Salvador$5 million0.02%
74.Dominican Republic$4.1 million0.02%
75.Trinidad/Tobago$4.1 million0.02%
76.Morocco$3.9 million0.01%
77.Swaziland$3.7 million0.01%
78.Armenia$3.3 million0.01%
79.Azerbaijan$3.3 million0.01%
80.Kuwait$3 million0.01%
81.Iceland$2.8 million0.01%
82.Sri Lanka$2.3 million0.01%
83.Uruguay$2.3 million0.01%
84.Uzbekistan$2.3 million0.01%
85.Oman$2 million0.01%
86.Syrian Arab Republic$1.8 million0.01%
87.Ghana$1.8 million0.01%
88.Malta$1.7 million0.01%
89.Bahrain$1.7 million0.01%
90.Georgia$1.5 million0.01%
91.Montenegro$1.4 million0.01%
92.Venezuela$1.1 million0.004%
93.Madagascar$941,0000.004%
94.Brunei Darussalam$939,0000.004%
95.Kyrgyzstan$894,0000.003%
96.Panama$855,0000.003%
97.Tunisia$742,0000.003%
98.Zambia$726,0000.003%
99.Zimbabwe$574,0000.002%
100.Nigeria$572,0000.002%
101.Pakistan$522,0000.002%
102.Iran$510,0000.002%
103.Cyprus$417,0000.002%
104.Aruba$376,0000.001%
105.Bangladesh$348,0000.001%
106.Barbados$336,0000.001%
107.Bolivia$296,0000.001%
108.Togo$247,0000.001%
109.Mauritius$244,0000.001%
110.Jamaica$207,0000.001%
111.Honduras$199,0000.001%
112.Fiji$173,0000.001%
113.Sao Tome/Principe$163,0000.001%
114.New Caledonia$125,0000.0005%
115.Grenada$122,0000.0005%
116.Mongolia$116,0000.0004%
117.Albania$107,0000.0004%
118.Algeria$83,0000.0003%
119.Rwanda$72,0000.0003%
120.Saint Lucia$63,0000.0002%
121.Kenya$62,0000.0002%
122.Turks/Caicos Is.$60,0000.0002%
123.Palestine$58,0000.0002%
124.US Minor Outlying Is.$54,0000.0002%
125.Benin$52,0000.0002%
126.Dominica$45,0000.0002%
127.Qatar$42,0000.0002%
128.Turkmenistan$39,0000.0001%
129.Mozambique$35,0000.0001%
130.Nicaragua$27,0000.0001%
131.Netherlands Antilles$24,0000.0001%
132.Tajikistan$21,0000.0001%
133.Gibraltar$20,0000.0001%
134.Gabon$20,0000.0001%
135.Andorra$18,0000.0001%
136.Cuba$14,0000.0001%
137.British Virgin Is.$12,0000.00005%
138.Namibia$10,0000.00004%
139.Niger$10,0000.00004%
140.Tokelau$10,0000.00004%
141.Yemen$10,0000.00004%
142.Paraguay$9,0000.00003%
143.Nepal$9,0000.00003%
144.Haiti$9,0000.00003%
145.Botswana$9,0000.00003%
146.Faroe Islands$9,0000.00003%
147.Lesotho$8,0000.00003%
148.Democratic Rep. Congo$7,0000.00003%
149.Pitcairn$5,0000.00002%
150.Tanzania$5,0000.00002%
151.Guinea-Bissau$4,0000.00002%
152.Myanmar$4,0000.00002%
153.Solomon Islands$3,0000.00001%
154.American Samoa$3,0000.00001%
155.Gambia$3,0000.00001%
156.Laos$3,0000.00001%
157.North Korea$3,0000.00001%
158.Macao$2,0000.00001%
159.Papua New Guinea$2,0000.00001%
160.French Polynesia$2,0000.00001%
161.Uganda$2,0000.00001%
162.Suriname$1,0000.000004%
163.Anguilla$1,0000.000004%
164.Antigua/Barbuda$1,0000.000004%
165.Bermuda$1,0000.000004%
166.Belize$1,0000.000004%
167.Cambodia$1,0000.000004%
168.Mali$1,0000.000004%

See also Germany’s Top 10 Exports and Germany’s Top Import Partners

b>Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on May 23, 2017

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on May 23, 2017

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 23, 2017

Candy Industry, 2015 Top 100 Confectionery Companies in the World. Accessed on May 23, 2017







Filed Under: Food, Processed