Top Vodka Exporters

June 10, 2018 by

Smirnoff leads vodka exporters

Smirnoff vodka

Global sales from vodka exports by country totaled US$2.2 billion in 2017.

Overall, the value of vodka exports fell by an average -24.1% for all exporting countries since 2013 when vodka shipments were valued at $2.8 billion. Year over year, the value of exported vodka shrank by -2.4% from 2016 to 2017.

From a continental perspective, European countries accounted for the highest dollar value worth of vodka exports during 2017 with shipments valued at $1.9 billion or 89.2% of the global total. A distant second, North American exporters supplied 4.9% while 3% of worldwide vodka shipments originated from Asia.

Smaller percentages of global vodka shipments came from Africa at 1.5%, Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean at 0.7%, and Oceania (mainly Australia and New Zealand) also at 0.7%.

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 2017:

  1. Sweden: US$463 million (21.4% of total vodka exports)
  2. France: $405.2 million (18.8%)
  3. Poland: $152.2 million (7%)
  4. United Kingdom: $141 million (7%)
  5. Russia: $135.6 million (6%)
  6. Netherlands: $112.4 million (5%)
  7. Germany: $108.1 million (5%)
  8. United States: $91.6 million (4.2%)
  9. Latvia: $89.1 million (4.1%)
  10. Finland: $74 million (3.4%)
  11. Ukraine: $51.9 million (2.4%)
  12. Italy: $43 million (2%)
  13. Singapore: $36.8 million (1.7%)
  14. Belarus: $29.6 million (1.4%)
  15. South Africa: $26 million (1.2%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 90.6% of global vodka exports in 2017 by value.

Three top exporters grew their international vodka sales since 2013 namely South Africa (up 387.1%), United States (up 27.0%) and Latvia (up 1.3%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported vodka sales were led by: United Kingdom (down -57.2%), Ukraine (down -48.2%), Russia (down -42.2%), Netherlands (down -24.9%) and Singapore (down -20.2%).

Advantages

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

  1. Sweden: US$452.1 million (net export surplus down -20.1% since 2013)
  2. France: $278.7 million (down -23.1%)
  3. Poland: $109.2 million (down -6%)
  4. Russia: $74.1 million (down -23.1%)
  5. Finland: $70.4 million (down -18.4%)
  6. Netherlands: $64.4 million (down -36.2%)
  7. Latvia: $36.3 million (down -27%)
  8. Ukraine: $27.5 million (down -20.9%)
  9. Belarus: $24.9 million (down -22.6%)
  10. South Africa: $17.5 million (reversing a -$2.9 million deficit)
  11. Italy: $8.1 million (down -26.7%)
  12. Singapore: $4.8 million (down -44.1%)
  13. Moldova: $3 million (down -69%)
  14. Indonesia: $1.9 million (reversing a -$740,000 deficit)
  15. Zambia: $1.6 million (down -74.6%)

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 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 vodka purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

  1. United States: -US$1.4 billion (net export deficit down -19.9% since 2013)
  2. Canada: -$100.1 million (down -10.8%)
  3. United Kingdom: -$48.7 million (reversing a $149.2 million surplus)
  4. Spain: -$48.5 million (up 4.9%)
  5. Israel: -$47.2 million (up 27.1%)
  6. United Arab Emirates: -$29.8 million (up 300%)
  7. Australia: -$29.6 million (down -29.3%)
  8. Greece: -$28.9 million (up 54.4%)
  9. Kazakhstan: -$26.7 million (down -56.1%)
  10. Germany: -$22.6 million (down -33.3%)
  11. Mexico: -$19.7 million (down -4.5%)
  12. Armenia: -$19.2 million (down -9.7%)
  13. Turkey: -$16.3 million (down -14.7%)
  14. Ireland: -$16.1 million (up 13.9%)
  15. Brazil: -$13.9 million (down -17.3%)

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)
  • Absolwent (Poland)
  • Artic (Italy)
  • Firefly (United States)
  • Grey Goose (France)
  • Kauffman (Russia)
  • Ketel One (Netherlands)
  • Khortytsia (Ukraine)
  • KORS (Finland)
  • Latvijas Balzams (Latvia)
  • Magic Spirits (Germany)
  • Minsk Kristall (Belarus)
  • Smirnoff (United Kingdom)
  • 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.

RankExporter2017 Vodka Exports% World Total
1.SwedenUS$463 million21.4%
2.France$405.2 million18.8%
3.Poland$152.2 million7%
4.United Kingdom$140.7 million6.5%
5.Russia$135.6 million6.3%
6.Netherlands$112.4 million5.2%
7.Germany$108.1 million5%
8.United States$91.6 million4.2%
9.Latvia$89.1 million4.1%
10.Finland$73.7 million3.4%
11.Ukraine$51.9 million2.4%
12.Italy$43 million2%
13.Singapore$36.8 million1.7%
14.Belarus$29.6 million1.4%
15.South Africa$26 million1.2%
16.Belgium$17.2 million0.8%
17.Spain$16.1 million0.7%
18.Lithuania$15.6 million0.7%
19.Austria$13.2 million0.6%
20.Australia$13 million0.6%
21.Canada$11 million0.5%
22.Estonia$10.2 million0.5%
23.Denmark$8.6 million0.4%
24.Moldova$7.7 million0.4%
25.Czech Republic$5.3 million0.2%
26.Georgia$5.2 million0.2%
27.Chile$5 million0.2%
28.Slovakia$4.2 million0.2%
29.Bulgaria$3.8 million0.2%
30.South Korea$3.5 million0.2%
31.United Arab Emirates$3.1 million0.1%
32.Mexico$2.8 million0.1%
33.Hong Kong$2.7 million0.1%
34.Ireland$2.6 million0.1%
35.Cyprus$2.6 million0.1%
36.Indonesia$2.5 million0.1%
37.Portugal$2.5 million0.1%
38.Thailand$2.5 million0.1%
39.Brazil$2.2 million0.1%
40.China$2.2 million0.1%
41.Kenya$2 million0.1%
42.Jamaica$1.9 million0.1%
43.Norway$1.9 million0.1%
44.Uganda$1.8 million0.1%
45.Armenia$1.8 million0.1%
46.Panama$1.7 million0.1%
47.Zambia$1.7 million0.1%
48.Barbados$1.6 million0.1%
49.Luxembourg$1.5 million0.1%
50.Hungary$1.5 million0.1%
51.Croatia$1.5 million0.1%
52.Romania$1.4 million0.1%
53.New Zealand$1.2 million0.1%
54.Iceland$1.2 million0.1%
55.Malaysia$1.2 million0.1%
56.Greece$1.2 million0.1%
57.Slovenia$1 million0.05%
58.Vietnam$939,0000.04%
59.Suriname$924,0000.04%
60.Guatemala$914,0000.04%
61.Serbia$804,0000.04%
62.Macedonia$652,0000.03%
63.Turks/Caicos Is$602,0000.03%
64.Sri Lanka$595,0000.03%
65.Lebanon$498,0000.02%
66.El Salvador$442,0000.02%
67.Japan$434,0000.02%
68.India$423,0000.02%
69.Malawi$384,0000.02%
70.British Virgin Is$346,0000.02%
71.Kyrgyzstan$337,0000.02%
72.Kazakhstan$304,0000.01%
73.Turkey$276,0000.01%
74.Switzerland$221,0000.01%
75.Malta$206,0000.01%
76.Jordan$142,0000.01%
77.Mongolia$101,0000.005%
78.Antigua/Barbuda$89,0000.004%
79.Belize$85,0000.004%
80.Uzbekistan$82,0000.004%
81.Philippines$80,0000.004%
82.Dominican Rep$60,0000.003%
83.Guyana$58,0000.003%
84.Mozambique$58,0000.003%
85.Bahamas$57,0000.003%
86.Free Zones$43,0000.002%
87.Anguilla$37,0000.002%
88.Israel$33,0000.002%
89.Mauritius$32,0000.001%
90.Azerbaijan$31,0000.001%
91.Argentina$28,0000.001%
92.Curaçao$27,0000.001%
93.South Sudan$25,0000.001%
94.Gibraltar$24,0000.001%
95.Benin$16,0000.001%
96.Togo$16,0000.001%
97.Trinidad/Tobago$16,0000.001%
98.Nepal$16,0000.001%
99.Bosnia/Herzegovina$15,0000.001%
100.Cuba$15,0000.001%
101.Aruba$14,0000.001%
102.Fiji$13,0000.001%
103.Peru$12,0000.001%
104.Swaziland$11,0000.001%
105.Macao$10,0000.0005%
106.Samoa$9,0000.0004%
107.Taiwan$8,0000.0004%
108.Madagascar$7,0000.0003%
109.Morocco$6,0000.0003%
110.Bolivia$6,0000.0003%
111.Andorra$3,0000.0001%
112.Faroe Islands$3,0000.0001%
113.Namibia$3,0000.0001%
114.Mali$2,0000.0001%
115.Afghanistan$2,0000.0001%
116.Venezuela$2,0000.0001%
117.Bahrain$1,0000.00005%
118.Cabo Verde$1,0000.00005%
119.Cayman Islands$1,0000.00005%
120.French Polynesia$1,0000.00005%
121.Ecuador$1,0000.00005%
122.Sudan$1,0000.00005%
123.Rwanda$1,0000.00005%
124.Mali$2,0000.00009%
125.Montenegro$2,0000.00009%
126.Norway$1,0000.00005%
127.Malawi$1,0000.00005%
128.Sierra Leone$1,0000.00005%
129.Pitcairn$1,0000.00005%
130.Bhutan$1,0000.00005%









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 4, 2018

Wikipedia, List of vodkas. Accessed on June 4, 2018

Filed Under: Drinks, Spotlight