Top Soap Exporters by Country

June 1, 2019 by

Home-made vegan soap

Home-made vegan soap

Worldwide sales for soap exports by country totaled US$10.9 billion in 2018. Overall, the value of exported soap rose by an average 5% for all exporting countries since 2014 when soap shipments were valued at $10.4 billion. Year over year, soap exports appreciated by 1.1% from 2017 to 2018.

Among continents, Europe generated the greatest revenue stream from exported soap during 2018 with shipments valued at $4.9 billion or 44.8% of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 34.4% while 12.9% of international soap shipments originated from North America. Smaller percentages came from soap suppliers in Africa (4.1%), Latin America (2.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (1.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 3401 for soap. That code prefix includes 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 2018.

  1. Germany: US$1.3 billion (11.9% of total soap exports)
  2. United States: $907.3 million (8.3%)
  3. Indonesia: $650.6 million (6%)
  4. China: $600.7 million (5.5%)
  5. Malaysia: $600 million (5.5%)
  6. United Kingdom: $512.3 million (4.7%)
  7. Poland: $511.2 million (4.7%)
  8. Japan: $486.7 million (4.5%)
  9. Italy: $464.7 million (4.3%)
  10. Netherlands: $432.8 million (4%)
  11. France: $420.4 million (3.9%)
  12. Turkey: $350 million (3.2%)
  13. Canada: $336.1 million (3.1%)
  14. Thailand: $269.2 million (2.5%)
  15. Belgium: $185.8 million (1.7%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 73.7% of globally exported soap in 2018.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing soap exporters since 2014 were: Japan (up 265.8%), Netherlands (up 59.8%), Poland (up 36%) and Germany (up 15.4%).

Three leading countries posted declines in their exported soap sales namely: Turkey (down -29.3%), Canada (down -12.3%) and United Kingdom (down -5.1%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for soap during 2018. 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. Germany: US$673.1 million (net export surplus up 9.7% since 2014)
  2. Indonesia: $590.1 million (up 0.5%)
  3. Malaysia: $473.9 million (up 10.1%)
  4. Poland: $264.8 million (up 43.9%)
  5. Turkey: $248.6 million (down -39.3%)
  6. China: $241.9 million (down -39.3%)
  7. Italy: $231.2 million (up 0.7%)
  8. Japan: $193.2 million (reversing a -$153.8 million deficit)
  9. Thailand: $181.9 million (down -0.6%)
  10. Israel: $99.2 million (down -28.4%)
  11. Ivory Coast: $97 million (up 36%)
  12. South Africa: $85.3 million (down -21.5%)
  13. Brazil: $75.4 million (up 4.1%)
  14. Netherlands: $55.8 million (up 359.2%)
  15. South Korea: $41.5 million (reversing a -$54.4 million deficit)

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 2018. 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$182.8 million (net export deficit up 99.5% since 2014)
  2. United Arab Emirates: -$171.1 million (up 55%)
  3. Australia: -$159.5 million (down -16.1%)
  4. Russia: -$135.8 million (down -30.2%)
  5. Taiwan: -$133 million (up 22.9%)
  6. Philippines: -$120.4 million (up 64.6%)
  7. Austria: -$116 million (up 31.9%)
  8. Ireland: -$93.6 million (up 15.9%)
  9. Iraq: -$91.9 million (up 970.7%)
  10. France: -$85.7 million (up 52.9%)
  11. United States: -$78 million (down -187.1%)
  12. Norway: -$74.8 million (up 11.9%)
  13. Romania: -$74.3 million (up 45.7%)
  14. Peru: -$68.2 million (up 21.7%)
  15. Saudi Arabia: -$62.2 million (reversing a $904,000 surplus)

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 in 2018

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

RankExporterSoap Exports (US$)%World Total
1.Germany$1.3 billion11.9%
2.United States$907.3 million8.3%
3.Indonesia$650.6 million6%
4.China$600.7 million5.5%
5.Malaysia$600 million5.5%
6.United Kingdom$512.3 million4.7%
7.Poland$511.2 million4.7%
8.Japan$486.7 million4.5%
9.Italy$464.7 million4.3%
10.Netherlands$432.8 million4%
11.France$420.4 million3.9%
12.Turkey$350 million3.2%
13.Canada$336.1 million3.1%
14.Thailand$269.2 million2.5%
15.Belgium$185.8 million1.7%
16.Spain$180.7 million1.7%
17.Mexico$165.7 million1.5%
18.South Africa$165 million1.5%
19.South Korea$164 million1.5%
20.Singapore$147.7 million1.4%
21.Israel$125.7 million1.2%
22.Czech Republic$117.6 million1.1%
23.India$112.8 million1%
24.Russia$107.2 million1%
25.Australia$104.5 million1%
26.Ivory Coast$103.4 million1%
27.Brazil$101.7 million0.9%
28.Sweden$94.3 million0.9%
29.Switzerland$77.8 million0.7%
30.Denmark$67 million0.6%
31.Colombia$57.4 million0.5%
32.Vietnam$53.5 million0.5%
33.United Arab Emirates$53.4 million0.5%
34.Hungary$49.2 million0.5%
35.Portugal$47.1 million0.4%
36.Slovenia$41.7 million0.4%
37.Honduras$37.4 million0.3%
38.Egypt$36.9 million0.3%
39.Kenya$36.3 million0.3%
40.Guatemala$35.5 million0.3%
41.Greece$34.3 million0.3%
42.Slovakia$33.4 million0.3%
43.Austria$28.9 million0.3%
44.Uganda$27.8 million0.3%
45.Tanzania$25.7 million0.2%
46.Ukraine$25.5 million0.2%
47.Romania$23.9 million0.2%
48.Hong Kong$23.4 million0.2%
49.Bulgaria$20.7 million0.2%
50.Argentina$18.3 million0.2%
51.Taiwan$18 million0.2%
52.Morocco$17.5 million0.2%
53.Lithuania$14.9 million0.1%
54.New Zealand$14.1 million0.1%
55.Croatia$14 million0.1%
56.Lebanon$13.6 million0.1%
57.Philippines$13.3 million0.1%
58.Pakistan$11.7 million0.1%
59.Latvia$11.5 million0.1%
60.Jordan$10.3 million0.1%
61.Serbia$10 million0.1%
62.Saudi Arabia$9.8 million0.1%
63.Ireland$9.7 million0.1%
64.Belarus$9.3 million0.1%
65.Norway$9.1 million0.1%
66.Zambia$9.1 million0.1%
67.Peru$7.3 million0.1%
68.Ecuador$7.2 million0.1%
69.Kazakhstan$6.8 million0.1%
70.Nigeria$6.2 million0.1%
71.Luxembourg$6.1 million0.1%
72.Estonia$5.6 million0.1%
73.Paraguay$5.3 million0.05%
74.Moldova$4.9 million0.04%
75.Chile$4.6 million0.04%
76.Mauritius$4.6 million0.04%
77.Iran$4.2 million0.04%
78.Bahrain$4.1 million0.04%
79.Ghana$4 million0.04%
80.Costa Rica$3.8 million0.03%
81.Syrian Arab Republic$3.6 million0.03%
82.Finland$3.4 million0.03%
83.El Salvador$3.3 million0.03%
84.Fiji$2.3 million0.02%
85.Dominican Republic$2.1 million0.02%
86.Tunisia$1.8 million0.02%
87.Aruba$1.7 million0.02%
88.Uzbekistan$1.5 million0.01%
89.Panama$1.4 million0.01%
90.North Macedonia$1.3 million0.01%
91.Botswana$1.2 million0.01%
92.Cyprus$1.2 million0.01%
93.Georgia$1.1 million0.01%
94.Togo$1.1 million0.01%
95.Bangladesh$1.1 million0.01%
96.Jamaica$1 million0.01%
97.Palestine$916,0000.01%
98.Bosnia/Herzegovina$725,0000.01%
99.Malawi$621,0000.01%
100.Albania$564,0000.01%
101.Nicaragua$418,0000.004%
102.US Minor Outlying Is$383,0000.004%
103.Trinidad/Tobago$336,0000.003%
104.Sri Lanka$324,0000.003%
105.Barbados$311,0000.003%
106.Zimbabwe$214,0000.002%
107.Iceland$180,0000.002%
108.Algeria$153,0000.001%
109.Dominica$146,0000.001%
110.Papua New Guinea$131,0000.001%
111.Belize$129,0000.001%
112.Burkina Faso$102,0000.001%
113.Senegal$101,0000.001%
114.Oman$100,0000.001%
115.Eswatini$92,0000.001%
116.Armenia$88,0000.001%
117.Macao$87,0000.001%
118.Benin$86,0000.001%
119.Nepal$84,0000.001%
120.Kyrgyzstan$82,0000.001%
121.Uruguay$81,0000.001%
122.Greenland$79,0000.001%
123.Curaçao$66,0000.001%
124.Burundi$63,0000.001%
125.Mali$62,0000.001%
126.Faroe Islands$53,0000.0005%
127.Turkmenistan$51,0000.0005%
128.Laos$46,0000.0004%
129.Andorra$42,0000.0004%
130.French Polynesia$39,0000.0004%
131.Cambodia$33,0000.0003%
132.Qatar$33,0000.0003%
133.Venezuela$32,0000.0003%
134.Azerbaijan$31,0000.0003%
135.Namibia$29,0000.0003%
136.Tajikistan$29,0000.0003%
137.Cayman Islands$25,0000.0002%
138.Malta$21,0000.0002%
139.Grenada$21,0000.0002%
140.Gambia$16,0000.0001%
141.Norfolk Island$16,0000.0001%
142.Cameroon$16,0000.0001%
143.Madagascar$14,0000.0001%
144.Iraq$14,0000.0001%
145.Seychelles$14,0000.0001%
146.Sierra Leone$12,0000.0001%
147.Lesotho$10,0000.0001%
148.Montenegro$10,0000.0001%
149.Marshall Islands$8,0000.0001%
150.Afghanistan$8,0000.0001%
151.Gabon$8,0000.0001%
152.Solomon Islands$7,0000.0001%
153.Guyana$7,0000.0001%
154.Guinea$6,0000.0001%
155.Kuwait$6,0000.0001%
156.Mongolia$6,0000.0001%
157.Myanmar$6,0000.0001%
158.Tokelau$4,0000.00004%
159.Antigua/Barbuda$3,0000.00003%
160.Ethiopia$3,0000.00003%
161.Congo$3,0000.00003%
162.Democr. Rep. Congo$3,0000.00003%
163.North Korea$3,0000.00003%
164.Mozambique$2,0000.00002%
165.Cocos (Keeling) Is$2,0000.00002%
166.Brunei Darussalam$2,0000.00002%
167.Turks/Caicos Islands$2,0000.00002%
168.Suriname$2,0000.00002%
169.Saint Lucia$2,0000.00002%
170.St Vincent/Grenadines$1,0000.00001%
171.Rwanda$1,0000.00001%
172.Sudan$1,0000.00001%
173.Samoa$1,0000.00001%
174.British Virgin Islands$1,0000.00001%
175.Angola$1,0000.00001%
176.Comoros$1,0000.00001%
177.Liberia$1,0000.00001%
178.Haiti$1,0000.00001%


See also Perfumes Exporters by Country, Beauty Cosmetics and Skincare Exports by Country and Top Human Hair Exporters by Country

Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 6, 2019

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 6, 2019

The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on June 6, 2019

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on June 6, 2019

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




Filed Under: Top products