Top Soap Exporters by Country

March 11, 2019 by

Home-made vegan soap

Home-made vegan soap

Worldwide sales for soap exports by country totaled US$10.4 billion in 2017.

Overall, the value of soap exports rose by an average 1.4% for all exporting countries since 2013 when soap-related shipments were valued at $10.2 billion. Year over year, exported soap appreciated by 6.8% from 2016 to 2017.

Among continents, European countries generated the greatest revenue stream from exported soap during 2017 with shipments valued at $4.4 billion or 42.4% of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 36.5% while 13.3% of global soap shipments originated from North America. Smaller percentages came from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (3.8%), Africa (3%) and Oceania including Australia (0.9%).

The 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 3401 for soap including bar and liquid soaps, as well as organic surface-active products and preparations.

Soap Exports by Country

Countries

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of soap during 2017.

  1. Germany: US$1.1 billion (11% of total soap exports)
  2. United States: $893 million (8.6%)
  3. Indonesia: $677 million (6.5%)
  4. Malaysia: $581.1 million (5.6%)
  5. China: $508.3 million (4.9%)
  6. United Kingdom: $499.8 million (4.8%)
  7. Netherlands: $441.7 million (4.3%)
  8. Poland: $431.7 million (4.2%)
  9. Italy: $392.8 million (3.8%)
  10. Japan: $390.6 million (3.8%)
  11. France: $378.2 million (3.6%)
  12. Turkey: $357.8 million (3.4%)
  13. Canada: $316 million (3%)
  14. Thailand: $231.8 million (2.2%)
  15. Mexico: $169.8 million (1.6%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 71.4% of global soap exports in 2017.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing soap exporters since 2013 were: Japan (up 241.9%), Netherlands (up 103.6%), Poland (up 28.9%) and Malaysia (up 16.3%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported soap sales were led by: Turkey (down -21.6%), Canada (down -16.6%), Thailand (down -15.5%), United Kingdom (down -7.7%) and China (down -4%).

Advantages

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

  1. Indonesia: US$626.3 million (net export surplus up 0.9% since 2013)
  2. Germany: $589.4 million (down -0.5%)
  3. Malaysia: $469.9 million (up 18.1%)
  4. Poland: $256 million (up 76%)
  5. Turkey: $251.4 million (down -32.4%)
  6. China: $232.3 million (down -44.7%)
  7. Italy: $213.8 million (down -5.2%)
  8. Thailand: $151.8 million (down -22.2%)
  9. Netherlands: $126.2 million (up 45,311%)
  10. Japan: $103.6 million (reversing a -$188.4 million deficit)
  11. Israel: $101.3 million (down -33.4%)
  12. South Africa: $98 million (down -29.7%)
  13. Brazil: $78.8 million (up 55.3%)
  14. Honduras: $61.7 million (down -23.6%)
  15. Mexico: $52.4 million (down -25.6%)

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

Opportunities

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

  1. Canada: -US$186.1 million (net export deficit up 142% since 2013)
  2. Australia: -$165.3 million (down -3.7%)
  3. Taiwan: -$127 million (up 13%)
  4. Austria: -$106 million (up 34.9%)
  5. Russia: -$100.9 million (down -41.1%)
  6. Iraq: -$97.3 million (no 2013 data)
  7. Philippines: -$94.4 million (up 1,372%)
  8. Ireland: -$89.4 million (up 5.7%)
  9. United Arab Emirates: -$80.1 million (up 32.4%)
  10. Norway: -$69.1 million (up 5.6%)
  11. Peru: -$66.1 million (up 27.4%)
  12. France: -$63.8 million (up 196.7%)
  13. Saudi Arabia: -$63.6 million (reversing a $107.5 million surplus)
  14. Romania: -$62.1 million (up 22.5%)
  15. Angola: -$62 million (down -10.2%)

Overtaking Australia in 2017, Canada incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of soap. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Canada’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for soap-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful worldwide demand.

Companies

Soap Exporting Companies

Below are global soap manufacturers that represent established players engaged in the international soap trade. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.

  • Ach Brito & Ca. (Portugal)
  • Caswell-Massey (United States)
  • Colgate-Palmolive (United States)
  • Deb Limited (United Kingdom)
  • Defense Soap (United States)
  • Doetsch Grether AG (Switzerland)
  • Further Products (United States)
  • Henkel (Germany)
  • L’Amande (Italy)
  • Nivea (Germany)
  • Orkla Group (Norway)
  • Proraso (Italy)
  • PZ Cussons (United Kingdom)
  • Sebapharma GmbH & Co (Germany)
  • Unilever (Netherlands & United Kingdom)


 

Searchable List of Soap Exporting Countries

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

RankExporter2017 Soap Exports% World Total
1.GermanyUS$1.1 billion11%
2.United States$893 million8.6%
3.Indonesia$677 million6.5%
4.Malaysia$581.1 million5.6%
5.China$508.3 million4.9%
6.United Kingdom$499.8 million4.8%
7.Netherlands$441.7 million4.3%
8.Poland$431.7 million4.2%
9.Italy$392.8 million3.8%
10.Japan$390.6 million3.8%
11.France$378.2 million3.6%
12.Turkey$357.8 million3.4%
13.Canada$316 million3%
14.Thailand$231.8 million2.2%
15.Mexico$169.8 million1.6%
16.Belgium$164.2 million1.6%
17.South Africa$162.3 million1.6%
18.United Arab Emirates$157.8 million1.5%
19.Saudi Arabia$154.3 million1.5%
20.Singapore$149.5 million1.4%
21.Spain$148.7 million1.4%
22.South Korea$129.7 million1.2%
23.Israel$123.9 million1.2%
24.Russia$116.5 million1.1%
25.Brazil$106.7 million1%
26.Czech Republic$96.8 million0.9%
27.Sweden$88.5 million0.9%
28.India$85.4 million0.8%
29.Australia$82.1 million0.8%
30.Honduras$77.5 million0.7%
31.Switzerland$77.5 million0.7%
32.Colombia$72.9 million0.7%
33.Guatemala$62.3 million0.6%
34.Vietnam$50.1 million0.5%
35.Denmark$49.1 million0.5%
36.Bahrain$48.3 million0.5%
37.Portugal$44.8 million0.4%
38.Kenya$44.5 million0.4%
39.Hungary$42.1 million0.4%
40.Egypt$39.7 million0.4%
41.Greece$33.3 million0.3%
42.Slovakia$30.2 million0.3%
43.Slovenia$29.6 million0.3%
44.Austria$26.7 million0.3%
45.Uganda$24.9 million0.2%
46.Philippines$24.8 million0.2%
47.Ukraine$23.5 million0.2%
48.Argentina$23.5 million0.2%
49.Hong Kong$20.5 million0.2%
50.Taiwan$19.3 million0.2%
51.Romania$18.8 million0.2%
52.Morocco$16.6 million0.2%
53.Ireland$15.9 million0.2%
54.Bulgaria$15.8 million0.2%
55.Lithuania$13.5 million0.1%
56.Kuwait$13.5 million0.1%
57.Oman$12.9 million0.1%
58.New Zealand$12.7 million0.1%
59.Moldova$12.4 million0.1%
60.Ecuador$12.2 million0.1%
61.Latvia$12.2 million0.1%
62.Croatia$12 million0.1%
63.Pakistan$11.1 million0.1%
64.Jordan$10.7 million0.1%
65.Zambia$10.3 million0.1%
66.Lebanon$9.9 million0.1%
67.Peru$9.4 million0.1%
68.Norway$7.5 million0.1%
69.Serbia$7.1 million0.1%
70.Kazakhstan$7.1 million0.1%
71.Belarus$7 million0.1%
72.Estonia$6.9 million0.1%
73.Luxembourg$6.3 million0.1%
74.Syria$6 million0.1%
75.Chile$5.6 million0.1%
76.Paraguay$4.6 million0.04%
77.El Salvador$4.4 million0.04%
78.Costa Rica$3.2 million0.03%
79.Finland$3 million0.03%
80.Nigeria$2.8 million0.03%
81.Dominican Republic$2.6 million0.03%
82.Côte d'Ivoire$2.5 million0.02%
83.Mauritius$2.3 million0.02%
84.Togo$1.9 million0.02%
85.Iran$1.6 million0.02%
86.Nicaragua$1.6 million0.01%
87.Qatar$1.5 million0.01%
88.Tunisia$1.4 million0.01%
89.Somalia$1.4 million0.01%
90.Palestine$1.3 million0.01%
91.Tanzania$1.3 million0.01%
92.Georgia$1.2 million0.01%
93.Panama$1.2 million0.01%
94.Jamaica$1.1 million0.01%
95.Ghana$1.1 million0.01%
96.Macedonia$1.1 million0.01%
97.Bangladesh$1 million0.01%
98.Bosnia/Herzegovina$833,0000.01%
99.Uzbekistan$761,0000.01%
100.Sri Lanka$757,0000.01%
101.Malawi$704,0000.01%
102.Fiji$642,0000.01%
103.Aruba$521,0000.01%
104.Trinidad/Tobago$480,0000.005%
105.Cyprus$407,0000.004%
106.Sudan$380,0000.004%
107.Benin$363,0000.003%
108.Cameroon$337,0000.003%
109.Yemen$242,0000.002%
110.Nepal$209,0000.002%
111.Haiti$195,0000.002%
112.Iraq$183,0000.002%
113.Montenegro$179,0000.002%
114.Senegal$175,0000.002%
115.Kyrgyzstan$162,0000.002%
116.Botswana$154,0000.001%
117.Ethiopia$132,0000.001%
118.Madagascar$123,0000.001%
119.Belize$115,0000.001%
120.Swaziland$96,0000.001%
121.Malta$88,0000.001%
122.Curaçao$76,0000.001%
123.Uruguay$74,0000.001%
124.Algeria$70,0000.001%
125.Namibia$69,0000.001%
126.Papua New Guinea$56,0000.001%
127.Barbados$54,0000.001%
128.Armenia$51,0000.0005%
129.Niger$49,0000.0005%
130.Macao$49,0000.0005%
131.Iceland$45,0000.0004%
132.French Polynesia$43,0000.0004%
133.Turkmenistan$41,0000.0004%
134.Azerbaijan$31,0000.0003%
135.Bhutan$30,0000.0003%
136.Mozambique$29,0000.0003%
137.Bolivia$28,0000.0003%
138.Guinea$25,0000.0002%
139.Zimbabwe$23,0000.0002%
140.US Minor Outlying Is$21,0000.0002%
141.Burkina Faso$21,0000.0002%
142.Myanmar (Burma)$20,0000.0002%
143.Turks/Caicos Is$19,0000.0002%
144.Suriname$18,0000.0002%
145.Albania$18,0000.0002%
146.Faroe Islands$16,0000.0002%
147.Gabon$15,0000.0001%
148.Mali$14,0000.0001%
149.Liberia$13,0000.0001%
150.Venezuela$12,0000.0001%
151.Samoa$11,0000.0001%
152.Brunei Darussalam$11,0000.0001%
153.Solomon Islands$11,0000.0001%
154.Antigua/Barbuda$10,0000.0001%
155.Cambodia$8,0000.0001%
156.Central African Rep$7,0000.0001%
157.Democ. Rep. Congo$6,0000.0001%
158.Mongolia$6,0000.0001%
159.St Maarten (Dutch)$6,0000.0001%
160.Lesotho$5,0000.00005%
161.Afghanistan$5,0000.00005%
162.Cabo Verde$4,0000.00004%
163.Timor-Leste$4,0000.00004%
164.Anguilla$3,0000.00003%
165.North Korea$3,0000.00003%
166.Northern Mariana Is$3,0000.00003%
167.Libya$2,0000.00002%
168.Guyana$2,0000.00002%
169.Dominica$2,0000.00002%
170.Cocos (Keeling) Is$2,0000.00002%
171.French S./Antarctic Terr$2,0000.00002%
172.Djibouti$1,0000.00001%
173.Bahamas$1,0000.00001%
174.Laos$1,0000.00001%
175.Maldives$1,0000.00001%
176.Saint Lucia$1,0000.00001%
177.Rwanda$1,0000.00001%
178.Saint Helena$1,0000.00001%


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

Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on June 12, 2018

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on June 12, 2018

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 12, 2018

Wikipedia, Category:Soap brands. Accessed on June 12, 2018







Filed Under: Top products