Glass architecture (courtesy of Pixabay.com)

Glass architecture (Pixabay)

Glass and glassware exports by country totaled US$71.6 billion in 2017, down by -4.5% for all product shippers over the five-year period starting in 2013. Globally, the value of exported glass and glassware increased 3.5% from 2016 to 2017.

Made principally from silica, glass is a hardened material that is typically transparent but can also be produced in many different colors and textures. Glass-related products include architectural glass, mirrors, stained glass windows, glass tiles, eyeglasses as well as many household glassware items such as bottles, jars and pitchers.

Among continents, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported glass and glassware during 2017 with shipments valued at $31.3 billion or 43.6% of the global total. Close behind in second place were European exporters at 43% while 11.1% of worldwide glass and glassware shipments originated from suppliers in North America. Smaller percentages came from Latin America (1.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (1%) and Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

The 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 70 for glass and glassware. There are many subcategories; a small sampling includes:

Glass fibers, glass wool and related articles (16.9% of the overall total)
Tempered and laminated safety glass (13.9%)
Household glassware including kitchenware, bathroom items, indoor decor (11.4%)
Glass sheets (4.7%)

Top Glass and Glassware Exports by Country

Top 15

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of glass and glassware during 2017.

China: US$15.9 billion (22.1% of total glass/glassware exports)
Germany: $7 billion (9.8%)
United States: $5.8 billion (8.1%)
France: $3.3 billion (4.6%)
Japan: $3.1 billion (4.3%)
Hong Kong: $2.7 billion (3.8%)
Italy: $2.6 billion (3.6%)
Belgium: $2.1 billion (3%)
Taiwan: $2 billion (2.8%)
Poland: $1.92 billion (2.7%)
Czech Republic: $1.88 billion (2.6%)
South Korea: $1.6 billion (2.3%)
Mexico: $1.5 billion (2.1%)
Netherlands: $1.43 billion (2%)
Spain: $1.42 billion (2%)

The listed 15 countries shipped around three-quarters (75.8%) of all glass and glassware exports in 2017 by value.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing glass/glassware exporters since 2013 were: South Korea (up 30.9%), Poland (up 11.3%), United States (up 3.7%) and Germany (up 1%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported glass/glassware sales were led by: Japan (down -35.8%), Spain (down -21%), Belgium (down -20.9%), Taiwan (down -11.7%) and Italy (down -11%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for glass and glassware during 2017. 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 glass and glassware and its import purchases for that same commodity.

China: US$8.6 billion (net export surplus down -1.6% since 2013)
Czech Republic: $964.3 million (down -6.8%)
Japan: $832.6 million (down -65.2%)
Germany: $726.7 million (down -45.4%)
Poland: $708.8 million (up 13.1%)
Hong Kong: $658.7 million (up 167.7%)
Italy: $614.2 million (down -29.5%)
Taiwan: $464.8 million (up 2,001%)
Belgium: $277.1 million (down -56.9%)
Bulgaria: $276 million (up 36.1%)
Egypt: $256 million (up 60.6%)
Luxembourg: $189.1 million (up 20.2%)
Hungary: $172.7 million (down -16.1%)
Portugal: $156.3 million (down -40.1%)
Belarus: $109.7 million (up 164.1%)

China has the highest surplus in the international trade of glass and glassware. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

Opportunities

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for glass and glassware during 2017. 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 glass and glassware purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

United States: -US$2.1 billion (net export deficit up 110.6% since 2013)
Canada: -$2 billion (up 5.1%)
United Kingdom: -$1.2 billion (up 10%)
Australia: -$709.4 million (up 28.6%)
South Korea: -$622.4 million (down -71.9%)
Singapore: -$578.8 million (down -1.2%)
India: -$499.3 million (up 761.7%)
Switzerland: -$455.2 million (down -3.2%)
Spain: -$408.9 million (reversing a $355.4 million surplus)
Sweden: -$350.2 million (up 41.6%)
Norway: -$339.1 million (down -0.6%)
Romania: -$283 million (up 31.1%)
Thailand: -$258.7 million (up 97.9%)
Argentina: -$247.5 million (down -2.5%)
United Arab Emirates: -$242.5 million (up 54.8%)

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

Companies

Glass-Related Exporters

Below are global producers that represent established players engaged in the international trade of glass and glassware ranging from crystal glassware, glass ceramics, tempered glass and Venetian glass. Shown within parenthesis is the home country where the headquarters is located.

AGC Inc. (Japan)
Barovier & Toso (Italy)
Corning Incorporated (United States)
Duralex (France)
Fuyao Glass Industry Group (China)
Moser AS (Poland)
Schott AG (Germany)
Val Saint Lambert (Belgium)

According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are examples of companies engaged in the international trade of glass sheets. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses:

Emerge Glass India Private Ltd. (India)
MP Ventures (United States)
Rheix Italia SRL (Italy)
Sun Aluminium Holdings (Hong Kong)
Sungil Innotech (South Korea)
Tsy Fong Glass Co. (Taiwan)
Wakodo Co. (Japan)
Zouping Daixi Industry And Trade Co. (China)

Searchable List of Glass/Glassware Exporting Countries

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

Rank	Exporter	2017 Glass/Glassware Exports	%Total
1.	China	$15.9 billion	22.1%
2.	Germany	$7 billion	9.8%
3.	United States	$5.8 billion	8.1%
4.	France	$3.3 billion	4.6%
5.	Japan	$3.1 billion	4.3%
6.	Hong Kong	$2.7 billion	3.8%
7.	Italy	$2.6 billion	3.6%
8.	Belgium	$2.1 billion	3%
9.	Taiwan	$2 billion	2.8%
10.	Poland	$1.92 billion	2.7%
11.	Czech Republic	$1.88 billion	2.6%
12.	South Korea	$1.6 billion	2.3%
13.	Mexico	$1.5 billion	2.1%
14.	Netherlands	$1.43 billion	2%
15.	Spain	$1.42 billion	2%
16.	United Kingdom	$1.3 billion	1.7%
17.	Austria	$1.1 billion	1.5%
18.	Vietnam	$1 billion	1.4%
19.	Malaysia	$949.3 million	1.3%
20.	Turkey	$916.1 million	1.3%
21.	Hungary	$773.5 million	1.1%
22.	Thailand	$701.1 million	1%
23.	India	$680.7 million	1%
24.	Russia	$673.4 million	0.9%
25.	Portugal	$636.9 million	0.9%
26.	Canada	$609.2 million	0.9%
27.	Slovakia	$577.7 million	0.8%
28.	Switzerland	$484.3 million	0.7%
29.	Sweden	$453.8 million	0.6%
30.	Denmark	$452.9 million	0.6%
31.	Bulgaria	$428.1 million	0.6%
32.	Egypt	$408.9 million	0.6%
33.	United Arab Emirates	$390.3 million	0.5%
34.	Luxembourg	$319.5 million	0.4%
35.	Indonesia	$279.4 million	0.4%
36.	Brazil	$276 million	0.4%
37.	Singapore	$258.3 million	0.4%
38.	Finland	$248.8 million	0.3%
39.	Belarus	$238.2 million	0.3%
40.	Saudi Arabia	$237.5 million	0.3%
41.	Romania	$189.4 million	0.3%
42.	Latvia	$181.1 million	0.3%
43.	Croatia	$176 million	0.2%
44.	Colombia	$170.1 million	0.2%
45.	Lithuania	$169.6 million	0.2%
46.	Slovenia	$153.7 million	0.2%
47.	South Africa	$153.3 million	0.2%
48.	Ukraine	$137.5 million	0.2%
49.	Ireland	$132.2 million	0.2%
50.	Estonia	$131.2 million	0.2%
51.	Peru	$118.9 million	0.2%
52.	Iran	$94.3 million	0.1%
53.	Costa Rica	$88.9 million	0.1%
54.	Philippines	$87.7 million	0.1%
55.	Norway	$75.9 million	0.1%
56.	Israel	$71 million	0.1%
57.	Australia	$65.8 million	0.1%
58.	Serbia	$62.6 million	0.1%
59.	Bahrain	$62.2 million	0.1%
60.	Kuwait	$61.4 million	0.1%
61.	Guatemala	$58.4 million	0.1%
62.	Chile	$54.7 million	0.1%
63.	Tunisia	$43.6 million	0.1%
64.	Moldova	$38.7 million	0.1%
65.	Morocco	$35.2 million	0.05%
66.	Oman	$34.7 million	0.05%
67.	Argentina	$34 million	0.05%
68.	Greece	$33.8 million	0.05%
69.	Algeria	$31.2 million	0.04%
70.	Kyrgyzstan	$29.6 million	0.04%
71.	Macao	$26.2 million	0.04%
72.	Tanzania	$20.3 million	0.03%
73.	New Zealand	$16.9 million	0.02%
74.	Sri Lanka	$16.3 million	0.02%
75.	Ecuador	$13.5 million	0.02%
76.	Kenya	$12 million	0.02%
77.	Pakistan	$11.8 million	0.02%
78.	Jordan	$11.5 million	0.02%
79.	Macedonia	$11.5 million	0.02%
80.	Bosnia/Herzegovina	$10.7 million	0.01%
81.	Paraguay	$8.6 million	0.01%
82.	Armenia	$8.5 million	0.01%
83.	Trinidad/Tobago	$8.2 million	0.01%
84.	Malta	$7.8 million	0.01%
85.	Syrian Arab Republic	$6.7 million	0.01%
86.	Nigeria	$6.5 million	0.01%
87.	Lebanon	$6.3 million	0.01%
88.	Georgia	$6.3 million	0.01%
89.	Nepal	$6.2 million	0.01%
90.	North Korea	$6 million	0.01%
91.	Panama	$5.6 million	0.01%
92.	Kazakhstan	$5.6 million	0.01%
93.	Uzbekistan	$3.8 million	0.01%
94.	Burundi	$3.5 million	0.005%
95.	Bangladesh	$3.2 million	0.004%
96.	Albania	$2.9 million	0.004%
97.	Venezuela	$2.9 million	0.004%
98.	Barbados	$2.7 million	0.004%
99.	El Salvador	$2.5 million	0.003%
100.	Dominican Republic	$2.2 million	0.003%
101.	Uruguay	$2.1 million	0.003%
102.	Honduras	$2.1 million	0.003%
103.	Senegal	$1.7 million	0.002%
104.	Uganda	$1.5 million	0.002%
105.	Cameroon	$1.5 million	0.002%
106.	Montenegro	$1.3 million	0.002%
107.	Jamaica	$1.3 million	0.002%
108.	Swaziland	$1.2 million	0.002%
109.	Namibia	$1.2 million	0.002%
110.	Botswana	$997,000	0.001%
111.	Qatar	$965,000	0.001%
112.	Nicaragua	$878,000	0.001%
113.	Cambodia	$614,000	0.001%
114.	Ghana	$595,000	0.001%
115.	Belize	$583,000	0.001%
116.	Myanmar (Burma)	$552,000	0.001%
117.	Cyprus	$515,000	0.001%
118.	Mauritius	$441,000	0.001%
119.	Antigua/Barbuda	$385,000	0.001%
120.	Laos	$349,000	0.0005%
121.	Zimbabwe	$331,000	0.0005%
122.	Sierra Leone	$314,000	0.0004%
123.	Rwanda	$309,000	0.0004%
124.	Guinea	$307,000	0.0004%
125.	Benin	$291,000	0.0004%
126.	Brunei Darussalam	$280,000	0.0004%
127.	Togo	$279,000	0.0004%
128.	Bolivia	$268,000	0.0004%
129.	Mozambique	$229,000	0.0003%
130.	Malawi	$219,000	0.0003%
131.	Fiji	$187,000	0.0003%
132.	Haiti	$179,000	0.0002%
133.	Andorra	$177,000	0.0002%
134.	Bahamas	$164,000	0.0002%
135.	Burkina Faso	$155,000	0.0002%
136.	Zambia	$154,000	0.0002%
137.	Azerbaijan	$144,000	0.0002%
138.	US Minor Outlying Is	$129,000	0.0002%
139.	Curaçao	$104,000	0.0001%
140.	Iraq	$97,000	0.0001%
141.	British Virgin Islands	$96,000	0.0001%
142.	Angola	$95,000	0.0001%
143.	Guyana	$92,000	0.0001%
144.	Tuvalu	$83,000	0.0001%
145.	Faroe Islands	$80,000	0.0001%
146.	Saint Kitts/Nevis	$66,000	0.0001%
147.	Gibraltar	$62,000	0.0001%
148.	Christmas Island	$58,000	0.0001%
149.	St Maarten (Dutch)	$57,000	0.0001%
150.	Lesotho	$52,000	0.0001%
151.	Côte d'Ivoire	$51,000	0.0001%
152.	Seychelles	$51,000	0.0001%
153.	Niger	$47,000	0.0001%
154.	Grenada	$46,000	0.0001%
155.	Madagascar	$46,000	0.0001%
156.	Bermuda	$44,000	0.0001%
157.	Afghanistan	$42,000	0.0001%
158.	Gabon	$40,000	0.0001%
159.	French S./Antarctic Terr	$39,000	0.0001%
160.	Aruba	$38,000	0.0001%
161.	St Vincent/Grenadines	$38,000	0.0001%
162.	Dominica	$37,000	0.0001%
163.	Tokelau	$36,000	0.0001%
164.	Djibouti	$35,000	0.00005%
165.	French Polynesia	$34,000	0.00005%
166.	Cayman Islands	$32,000	0.00004%
167.	Cuba	$32,000	0.00004%
168.	Tonga	$27,000	0.00004%
169.	Turks/Caicos Islands	$27,000	0.00004%
170.	Maldives	$24,000	0.00003%
171.	Turkmenistan	$23,000	0.00003%
172.	Vanuatu	$22,000	0.00003%
173.	Iceland	$20,000	0.00003%
174.	Liberia	$19,000	0.00003%
175.	Marshall Islands	$19,000	0.00003%
176.	Samoa	$18,000	0.00003%
177.	Sudan	$16,000	0.00002%
178.	Suriname	$14,000	0.00002%
179.	Tajikistan	$14,000	0.00002%
180.	Saint Lucia	$13,000	0.00002%
181.	Mali	$12,000	0.00002%
182.	Ethiopia	$10,000	0.00001%
183.	Montserrat	$7,000	0.00001%
184.	Eritrea	$6,000	0.00001%
185.	Sao/Principe	$6,000	0.00001%
186.	Pitcairn	$6,000	0.00001%
187.	Cook Islands	$5,000	0.00001%
188.	Gambia	$5,000	0.00001%
189.	Mongolia	$4,000	0.00001%
190.	Palau	$4,000	0.00001%
191.	Anguilla	$4,000	0.00001%
192.	Papua New Guinea	$3,000	0.000004%
193.	Somalia	$3,000	0.000004%
194.	New Caledonia	$3,000	0.000004%
195.	Democratic Rep. Congo	$3,000	0.000004%
196.	Bhutan	$3,000	0.000004%
197.	Congo	$2,000	0.000003%
198.	Central African Republic	$2,000	0.000003%
199.	Chad	$2,000	0.000003%
200.	Falkland Is. (Malvinas)	$2,000	0.000003%
201.	Niue	$2,000	0.000003%
202.	Yemen	$1,000	0.000001%
203.	Netherlands Antilles	$1,000	0.000001%
204.	Libya	$1,000	0.000001%

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for glass sheets. Accessed on September 18, 2018

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 18, 2018

The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on September 18, 2018

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on September 18, 2018

Wikipedia, Category:Glassmaking companies by country. Accessed on September 18, 2018

Wikipedia, Glass. Accessed on September 18, 2018

Top Glass and Glassware Exports by Country

Top Glass and Glassware Exports by Country

Top 15

Advantages

Opportunities

Companies

Glass-Related Exporters

Searchable List of Glass/Glassware Exporting Countries

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