Top Charcoal Exporters by Country

January 2, 2018 by

Charcoal BBQ grill (courtesy of Pixabay.com)

Charcoal for BBQ (Pixabay)

Charcoal exports by country totaled US$985.9 million in 2016, up by 32.6% for all charcoal shippers over the five-year period starting in 2012. Year over year, the value of exported charcoal dipped -1.4% from 2015 to 2016.

Light gray in color, charcoal results from the slow heating of wood or other combustible substances in an oxygen-less environment. This process contrasts with the millions of years involved for coal, a black natural mineral and fossil fuel formed under the earth’s crust under high temperature and intense pressure.

Other differences are that charcoal produces more heat and is a cleaner fuel than coal. In addition to generating energy and producing heat for cooking, black powder from charcoal is used in creating purification filters as well as producing fireworks.

Among continents, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported charcoal during 2016 with shipments valued at $433.7 million or 43.8% of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 32.1% while 10.7% of worldwide charcoal shipments originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. A smaller percentage at 5.3% came from North America.

The 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for charcoal is 4402.

Top Charcoal Exporters by Country

Countries

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

  1. Indonesia: US$190.6 million (19.3% of exported charcoal)
  2. China: $102.3 million (10.3%)
  3. Poland: $93.2 million (9.4%)
  4. Ukraine: $59.3 million (6%)
  5. Vietnam: $43.9 million (4.4%)
  6. Cuba: $43.5 million (4.4%)
  7. Mexico: $37.2 million (3.8%)
  8. Belgium: $35.2 million (3.6%)
  9. Paraguay: $30.1 million (3%)
  10. Malaysia: $26.1 million (2.6%)
  11. Netherlands: $25.1 million (2.5%)
  12. Namibia: $24.2 million (2.4%)
  13. Philippines: $21.8 million (2.2%)
  14. Argentina: $19.1 million (1.93%)
  15. Djibouti: $18.7 million (1.89%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 77.8% of all charcoal exports in 2016 by value.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing charcoal exporter since 2012 was Vietnam via its 774.9% gain in value since 2012. In second place was Djibouti (up 450.4%), followed by China (up 130.2%), Indonesia (up 80.1%) and Cuba (up 77.5%).

Bucking the upbeat trend were three decliners: Paraguay (down -13.3%), Philippines (down -22.1%) and Argentina (down -37.7%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for charcoal 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 exported charcoal and its import purchases for that same commodity.

  1. Indonesia: US$190.4 million (net export surplus up 80.2% since 2012)
  2. Ukraine: $58.1 million (up 71.1%)
  3. China: $56.2 million (reversing a -$13.6 million deficit)
  4. Poland: $52 million (up 44.6%)
  5. Cuba: $43.5 million (up 77.4%)
  6. Vietnam: $37.4 million (up 1860.2%)
  7. Mexico: $36.1 million (up 70.2%)
  8. Paraguay: $29.6 million (down -14.6%)
  9. Namibia: $24.2 million (up 41.2%)
  10. Philippines: $21.7 million (down -22.3%)
  11. Malaysia: $21.2 million (up 29%)
  12. Argentina: $19 million (down -37.7%)
  13. Djibouti: $18.7 million (up 450.3%)
  14. Egypt: $9.7 million (down -6.8%)
  15. Bosnia/Herzegovina: $9.4 million (up 16.9%)

Indonesia has the highest surplus in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Indonesian competitive advantages for this specific product category.

Opportunities

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for charcoal 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 imported charcoal purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

  1. Japan: -US$123.9 million (net export deficit down -2% since 2012)
  2. South Korea: -$111.6 million (up 16.6%)
  3. Germany: -$88.4 million (down -12.4%)
  4. Saudi Arabia: -$59 million (up 297.2%)
  5. United States: -$48.6 million (up 88.7%)
  6. France: -$41.1 million (up 5.9%)
  7. Turkey: -$38.4 million (up 118.8%)
  8. United Kingdom: -$36.5 million (down -10%)
  9. United Arab Emirates: -$31.3 million (up 42.6%)
  10. Greece: -$29.9 million (down -3.1%)
  11. Italy: -$26 million (up 1.2%)
  12. Lebanon: -$25.8 million (up 125.5%)
  13. Norway: -$22.5 million (down -0.5%)
  14. Kuwait: -$19.5 million (down -11.8%)
  15. Sweden: -$18.7 million (up 24.8%)

Japan incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for charcoal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.

Companies

Charcoal Exporting Companies

The following suppliers are examples of charcoal-trading exporters.

  • Basques Hardwood Charcoal (Canada)
  • Dolimex SRL (Paraguay)
  • HBE Trading (Netherlands)
  • Jiangshan Luyi Bamboo Charcoal Co (China)
  • Kim Ban Marketing (Malaysia)
  • Sumber Jaya (Indonesia)
  • UA Wood LLC (Ukraine)
  • Vietgo Company Limited (Vietnam)

The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.



 

Searchable List of charcoal Exporting Countries

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

RankExporter2016 Charcoal Exports% World Total
1.Indonesia$190.6 million19.3%
2.China$102.3 million10.3%
3.Poland$93.2 million9.4%
4.Ukraine$59.3 million6%
5.Vietnam$43.9 million4.4%
6.Cuba$43.5 million4.4%
7.Mexico$37.2 million3.8%
8.Belgium$35.2 million3.6%
9.Paraguay$30.1 million3%
10.Malaysia$26.1 million2.6%
11.Netherlands$25.1 million2.5%
12.Namibia$24.2 million2.4%
13.Philippines$21.8 million2.2%
14.Argentina$19.1 million1.9%
15.Djibouti$18.7 million1.9%
16.Germany$16.3 million1.6%
17.United States$13.9 million1.4%
18.Spain$13.2 million1.3%
19.South Africa$11.6 million1.2%
20.Thailand$11.6 million1.2%
21.Russia$11.3 million1.1%
22.France$10.9 million1.1%
23.India$10.2 million1%
24.Egypt$10.1 million1%
25.Bosnia/Herzegovina$9.6 million1%
26.Colombia$7 million0.7%
27.Latvia$6.8 million0.7%
28.Portugal$6.7 million0.7%
29.Comoros$5.9 million0.6%
30.United Arab Emirates$5.4 million0.5%
31.Serbia$4.9 million0.5%
32.Croatia$4.7 million0.5%
33.Romania$4.2 million0.4%
34.Singapore$3.8 million0.4%
35.Bangladesh$3.8 million0.4%
36.Laos$3.7 million0.4%
37.Japan$3.5 million0.4%
38.Lithuania$3.3 million0.3%
39.Nigeria$3.2 million0.3%
40.Sri Lanka$2.7 million0.3%
41.Slovakia$2.1 million0.2%
42.Canada$1.8 million0.2%
43.Denmark$1.6 million0.2%
44.Brazil$1.6 million0.2%
45.Austria$1.5 million0.1%
46.Belarus$1.4 million0.1%
47.Venezuela$1.3 million0.1%
48.Sweden$1.3 million0.1%
49.El Salvador$1.3 million0.1%
50.United Kingdom$1.2 million0.1%
51.Bahrain$1.1 million0.1%
52.Estonia$1.1 million0.1%
53.Côte d'Ivoire$963,0000.1%
54.Sudan$853,0000.1%
55.Turkey$820,0000.1%
56.Bulgaria$769,0000.1%
57.Swaziland$688,0000.1%
58.Taiwan$677,0000.1%
59.Nicaragua$660,0000.1%
60.Italy$597,0000.1%
61.Dominican Republic$558,0000.1%
62.$548,0000.1%
63.Ghana$534,0000.1%
64.South Korea$440,0000.04%
65.Norway$416,0000.04%
66.Somalia$386,0000.04%
67.Greece$298,0000.03%
68.Slovenia$281,0000.03%
69.Tunisia$267,0000.03%
70.Guyana$255,0000.03%
71.Czech Republic$251,0000.03%
72.Luxembourg$244,0000.02%
73.Kenya$242,0000.02%
74.Hong Kong$233,0000.02%
75.Kuwait$211,0000.02%
76.South Sudan$203,0000.02%
77.Bolivia$196,0000.02%
78.Iran$195,0000.02%
79.Senegal$186,0000.02%
80.Guatemala$183,0000.02%
81.Syria$177,0000.02%
82.Oman$144,0000.01%
83.Switzerland$141,0000.01%
84.Lebanon$115,0000.01%
85.North Korea$96,0000.01%
86.Australia$89,0000.01%
87.Israel$86,0000.01%
88.Georgia$75,0000.01%
89.Panama$74,0000.01%
90.Ireland$66,0000.01%
91.Hungary$63,0000.01%
92.Zambia$63,0000.01%
93.Azerbaijan$57,0000.01%
94.Jordan$54,0000.01%
95.Angola$50,0000.01%
96.Brunei Darussalam$49,0000.005%
97.Cambodia$42,0000.004%
98.Pakistan$40,0000.004%
99.Uganda$40,0000.004%
100.Finland$36,0000.004%
101.Montenegro$28,0000.003%
102.Fiji$22,0000.002%
103.Albania$21,0000.002%
104.New Zealand$19,0000.002%
105.Ecuador$18,0000.002%
106.Suriname$15,0000.002%
107.Kazakhstan$10,0000.001%
108.Myanmar$7,0000.001%
109.Democratic Rep. Congo$7,0000.001%
110.Madagascar$5,0000.001%
111.Moldova$5,0000.001%
112.Armenia$4,0000.0004%
113.Benin$4,0000.0004%
114.Jamaica$4,0000.0004%
115.St Vincent/Grenadines$3,0000.0003%
116.Saint Lucia$2,0000.0002%
117.Morocco$2,0000.0002%
118.Uzbekistan$2,0000.0002%
119.Malawi$1,0000.0001%
120.Mauritius$1,0000.0001%
121.Timor-Leste$1,0000.0001%
122.Guinea$1,0000.0001%
123.Chile$1,0000.0001%
124.Cameroon$1,0000.0001%

See also Coal Exports by Country, Electricity Exports by Country and Crude Oil Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Product showroom for charcoal. Accessed on December 3, 2017

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 3, 2017

Patel Vidhu, 6 Differences Between Coal and Charcoal. Accessed on December 3, 2017

The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on December 3, 2017

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on December 3, 2017

Wikipedia, Charcoal. Accessed on December 3, 2017







Filed Under: Energy, Products, Wood