Smirnoff vodka
Overall, the value of vodka exports were down by an average -23.2% for all exporting countries since 2012 when vodka shipments were valued at $2.8 billion. Year over year, the value of exported vodka shrank by -0.9% from 2015 to 2016.
From a continental perspective, European countries accounted for the highest dollar value worth of vodka exports during 2016 with shipments valued at $2 billion or 91% of the global total. A distant second, North American exporters supplied 3.9% while 3% of worldwide vodka shipments originated from Asia.
Smaller percentages of global vodka shipments came from Latin America excluding Mexico plus the Caribbean (0.9%), Africa (0.7%) and Oceania (mainly Australia and New Zealand) at 0.6%.
The 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for vodka is 220860.
Top Vodka Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of vodka during 2016:
- Sweden: US$465.1 million (21.4% of total vodka exports)
- France: $453.4 million (20.9%)
- United Kingdom: $207.4 million (9.5%)
- Poland: $155.3 million (7.2%)
- Russia: $121.6 million (5.6%)
- Netherlands: $112.3 million (5.2%)
- Germany: $104.3 million (4.8%)
- United States: $67.6 million (3.1%)
- Latvia: $66.6 million (3.1%)
- Finland: $66.1 million (3%)
- Italy: $39.5 million (1.8%)
- Belarus: $33.9 million (1.6%)
- Singapore: $33.5 million (1.5%)
- Ukraine: $31.7 million (1.5%)
- Lithuania: $15.2 million (0.7%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 90.9% of global vodka exports in 2016 by value.
Five of the above countries increased their vodka exports since 2012: Belarus (up 76.5%), Lithuania (up 44.4%), Italy (up 36.6%), Poland (up 6.6%) and Germany (up 4.2%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported vodka sales were led by: Ukraine (down -68.3%), United Kingdom (down -58.1%), Russia (down -41.4%), Finland (down -21.8%) and Sweden (down -20.2%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for vodka 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 vodka and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Sweden: US$451.4 million (net export surplus down -20.7% since 2012)
- France: $325.9 million (down -10.2%)
- Poland: $116.4 million (up 3.4%)
- Russia: $81 million (up 9.3%)
- Netherlands: $71.3 million (down -11.6%)
- Finland: $63.3 million (down -21.7%)
- Belarus: $29.3 million (up 66.5%)
- Latvia: $28.8 million (down -38.2%)
- United Kingdom: $22.6 million (down -93.5%)
- Ukraine: $15.5 million (down -71.7%)
- Italy: $5.8 million (up 95.5%)
- South Africa: $4.8 million (down -947.5%)
- Moldova: $4.1 million (up 19%)
- Costa Rica: $3.4 million (down -44.8%)
- Singapore: $2.3 million (down -33.4%)
Sweden has the highest surplus in the international trade of vodka. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Sweden’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for vodka 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 vodka purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$1.6 billion (net export deficit down -12.1% since 2012)
- Canada: -$91.9 million (down -22.8%)
- Israel: -$45.6 million (up 72.8%)
- Spain: -$45.4 million (up 25.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$30.6 million (down -1437.9%)
- Greece: -$26.7 million (up 58.5%)
- Australia: -$25.4 million (down -34.4%)
- Kazakhstan: -$24 million (down -58.1%)
- Mexico: -$21.5 million (up 30.9%)
- Germany: -$21.5 million (down -39.2%)
- Japan: -$15.1 million (down -48.7%)
- Panama: -$15 million (up 134%)
- Turkey: -$14.4 million (down -14.7%)
- Ireland: -$14.1 million (down -2.7%)
- Armenia: -$13.5 million (down -35.2%)
The United States incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of vodka. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for vodka-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful worldwide demand.
Brands
Top Vodka Brands
Below are global vodka-processing brands that represent established entities exported and imported in the international vodka trade. Their home country associated with each brand is shown within parenthesis.
- Absolut (Sweden)
- Grey Goose (France)
- Smirnoff (United Kingdom)
- Absolwent (Poland)
- Kauffman (Russia)
- Ketel One (Netherlands)
- Magic Spirits (Germany)
- Firefly (United States)
- Latvijas Balzams (Latvia)
- KORS (Finland)
- Artic (Italy)
- Minsk Kristall (Belarus)
- Khortytsia (Ukraine)
- Stumbras (Lithuania)
Founded in Russia, Smirnoff is now a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo.
Searchable List of Vodka Exporting Countries
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Exporter | 2016 Vodka Exports | % World Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sweden | US$465.1 million | 21.4% |
| 2. | France | $453.4 million | 20.9% |
| 3. | United Kingdom | $207.4 million | 9.5% |
| 4. | Poland | $155.3 million | 7.2% |
| 5. | Russia | $121.6 million | 5.6% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $112.3 million | 5.2% |
| 7. | Germany | $104.3 million | 4.8% |
| 8. | United States | $67.6 million | 3.1% |
| 9. | Latvia | $66.6 million | 3.1% |
| 10. | Finland | $66.1 million | 3% |
| 11. | Italy | $39.5 million | 1.8% |
| 12. | Belarus | $33.9 million | 1.6% |
| 13. | Singapore | $33.5 million | 1.5% |
| 14. | Ukraine | $31.7 million | 1.5% |
| 15. | Lithuania | $15.2 million | 0.7% |
| 16. | Belgium | $14.7 million | 0.7% |
| 17. | South Africa | $14.7 million | 0.7% |
| 18. | Canada | $13.8 million | 0.6% |
| 19. | Spain | $13.5 million | 0.6% |
| 20. | Austria | $12.7 million | 0.6% |
| 21. | Estonia | $11.1 million | 0.5% |
| 22. | Australia | $10 million | 0.5% |
| 23. | Moldova | $8.9 million | 0.4% |
| 24. | Denmark | $8.5 million | 0.4% |
| 25. | Costa Rica | $7 million | 0.3% |
| 26. | Czech Republic | $6.1 million | 0.3% |
| 27. | Bulgaria | $4.6 million | 0.2% |
| 28. | Malaysia | $4.3 million | 0.2% |
| 29. | Slovakia | $4.3 million | 0.2% |
| 30. | Georgia | $4.1 million | 0.2% |
| 31. | South Korea | $4 million | 0.2% |
| 32. | Mexico | $3.8 million | 0.2% |
| 33. | Cyprus | $3.4 million | 0.2% |
| 34. | Hong Kong | $3 million | 0.1% |
| 35. | Portugal | $2.9 million | 0.1% |
| 36. | Panama | $2.9 million | 0.1% |
| 37. | Chile | $2.7 million | 0.1% |
| 38. | United Arab Emirates | $2.4 million | 0.1% |
| 39. | Armenia | $2.3 million | 0.1% |
| 40. | Ireland | $2.1 million | 0.1% |
| 41. | Thailand | $2 million | 0.1% |
| 42. | New Zealand | $2 million | 0.1% |
| 43. | Luxembourg | $2 million | 0.1% |
| 44. | China | $1.9 million | 0.1% |
| 45. | Indonesia | $1.8 million | 0.1% |
| 46. | Brazil | $1.8 million | 0.1% |
| 47. | Norway | $1.2 million | 0.1% |
| 48. | Sri Lanka | $1.1 million | 0.1% |
| 49. | Slovenia | $998,000 | 0.05% |
| 50. | Iceland | $990,000 | 0.05% |
| 51. | Hungary | $950,000 | 0.04% |
| 52. | India | $950,000 | 0.04% |
| 53. | Guatemala | $898,000 | 0.04% |
| 54. | Barbados | $875,000 | 0.04% |
| 55. | Croatia | $872,000 | 0.04% |
| 56. | Romania | $829,000 | 0.04% |
| 57. | Greece | $793,000 | 0.04% |
| 58. | Vietnam | $775,000 | 0.04% |
| 59. | El Salvador | $774,000 | 0.04% |
| 60. | Kazakhstan | $721,000 | 0.03% |
| 61. | Lebanon | $708,000 | 0.03% |
| 62. | Serbia | $642,000 | 0.03% |
| 63. | Macedonia | $592,000 | 0.03% |
| 64. | Jamaica | $431,000 | 0.02% |
| 65. | Uzbekistan | $373,000 | 0.02% |
| 66. | British Virgin Islands | $282,000 | 0.01% |
| 67. | Malta | $244,000 | 0.01% |
| 68. | Guyana | $237,000 | 0.01% |
| 69. | Japan | $235,000 | 0.01% |
| 70. | Switzerland | $229,000 | 0.01% |
| 71. | Turkey | $129,000 | 0.01% |
| 72. | Argentina | $123,000 | 0.01% |
| 73. | Mongolia | $119,000 | 0.01% |
| 74. | Israel | $115,000 | 0.01% |
| 75. | Mauritius | $103,000 | 0.005% |
| 76. | Kyrgyzstan | $102,000 | 0.005% |
| 77. | Mozambique | $98,000 | 0.005% |
| 78. | Belize | $92,000 | 0.004% |
| 79. | Aruba | $82,000 | 0.004% |
| 80. | Jordan | $79,000 | 0.004% |
| 81. | Saint Lucia | $79,000 | 0.004% |
| 82. | Trinidad/Tobago | $72,000 | 0.003% |
| 83. | Senegal | $50,000 | 0.002% |
| 84. | Suriname | $45,000 | 0.002% |
| 85. | Kenya | $42,000 | 0.002% |
| 86. | Bermuda | $39,000 | 0.002% |
| 87. | Azerbaijan | $39,000 | 0.002% |
| 88. | Anguilla | $36,000 | 0.002% |
| 89. | Gibraltar | $32,000 | 0.001% |
| 90. | Ecuador | $25,000 | 0.001% |
| 91. | St Vincent/Grenadines | $23,000 | 0.001% |
| 92. | Uruguay | $22,000 | 0.001% |
| 93. | Taiwan | $18,000 | 0.001% |
| 94. | Burkina Faso | $16,000 | 0.001% |
| 95. | Zimbabwe | $14,000 | 0.001% |
| 96. | Netherlands Antilles | $13,000 | 0.001% |
| 97. | Botswana | $13,000 | 0.001% |
| 98. | Nepal | $12,000 | 0.001% |
| 99. | Rwanda | $12,000 | 0.001% |
| 100. | Philippines | $10,000 | 0.0005% |
| 101. | Laos | $9,000 | 0.0004% |
| 102. | Antigua/Barbuda | $9,000 | 0.0004% |
| 103. | Samoa | $9,000 | 0.0004% |
| 104. | Bahamas | $8,000 | 0.0004% |
| 105. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $8,000 | 0.0004% |
| 106. | Fiji | $5,000 | 0.0002% |
| 107. | Dominica | $5,000 | 0.0002% |
| 108. | Colombia | $4,000 | 0.0002% |
| 109. | Faroe Islands | $3,000 | 0.0001% |
| 110. | Madagascar | $3,000 | 0.0001% |
| 111. | Benin | $2,000 | 0.0001% |
| 112. | Cayman Islands | $2,000 | 0.0001% |
| 113. | Cuba | $2,000 | 0.0001% |
| 114. | Myanmar (Burma) | $2,000 | 0.0001% |
| 115. | Cambodia | $1,000 | 0.00005% |
| 116. | Morocco | $1,000 | 0.00005% |
| 117. | Peru | $1,000 | 0.00005% |
| 118. | Zambia | $1,000 | 0.00005% |
See also Wine Exports by Country, Top Wine Importing Countries and Major Export Companies: Alcoholic Beverages
Research Sources:
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on June 23, 2017
Wikipedia, List of vodkas. Accessed on June 23, 2017
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