A cheese-like food made from curdled soyabean (also spelled soybean) milk, tofu is also called bean curd. The textured food product is made by pressing curds of coagulated soy milk into solid white blocks.
The overall value of exported tofu accelerated by an average 23.1% for all exporting countries since 2016 when worldwide shipments of tofu were valued at $1 billion.
From 2019 to 2020, globally exported tofu appreciated by 11%.
The 5 biggest tofu exporters (United States, Italy, Bolivia, India, Serbia) generated 92.5% of international sales of tofu during 2020. Such a high percentage belies a highly concentrated cohort of global tofu suppliers.
Among continents, North American countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported tofu during 2020 with shipments valued at $1.1 billion or 83.5% of the world total. In second place were European exporters at 10.4%.
Smaller percentages came from Latin America (2.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2%), Asia (1.8%) then Oceania mostly Australia at 0.2%.
In addition to total export sales, this article highlights key countries that offer the lowest and highest unit price per ton of exported tofu. Also identified are the biggest exporting countries in terms of shipment weight.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 120810 for soyabean flour and meal. Those are key ingredients for making tofu with boiling water.
Best Tofu Exporters by Global Sales per Country
Listed below are the 15 major suppliers of exported tofu ranked in descending order by total sales per country.
Also shown is percentage that each exporter furnishes in terms of the overall value of globally exported tofu.
- United States: US$1.1 billion (83.2% of total exported tofu)
- Italy: $58.5 million (4.6%)
- Bolivia: $25.6 million (2%)
- India: $17.5 million (1.4%)
- Serbia: $17.4 million (1.4%)
- Portugal: $14.1 million (1.1%)
- Austria: $13.4 million (1%)
- Zambia: $11.7 million (0.9%)
- Netherlands: $8.4 million (0.7%)
- Germany: $7.1 million (0.6%)
- Ethiopia: $4.6 million (0.4%)
- Canada: $4.1 million (0.3%)
- Belgium: $3.6 million (0.3%)
- Hungary: $3.2 million (0.2%)
- Uganda: $2.7 million (0.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.2% of global tofu exports in 2020.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing tofu exporters since 2019 were: Uganda (up 5,547%), Ethiopia (up 411.8%), Hungary (up 125.9%) and Bolivia (up 76.3%).
There were 3 decliners namely Belgium (down -68.1%), Netherlands (down -53.2%) and Austria (down -5.7%).
Lowest Average Unit Prices for Tofu Exports by Country
Health-conscious consumers often choose tofu is an affordable plant-based food as an alternative for meat proteins.
The average unit price for per ton of tofu soyabean flour and meal is US$390 per ton in 2020. The average unit price for tofu is -9.7% lower than an estimated $432 per ton during 2019.
Ranked starting with the most economical providers, listed below are the tofu suppliers offering the lowest average unit prices in 2020.
- Pakistan: US$213 per ton (Down -43.8% from 2019)
- Zimbabwe: $231 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
- Togo: $313 per ton (Up 820.6%)
- Bolivia: $336 per ton (Down -0.9%)
- Spain: $342 per ton (Down -10.9%)
- Nigeria: $358 per ton (Down -17.3%)
- United States: $372 per ton (Down -0.8%)
- Ireland: $377 per ton (Down -5%)
- Poland: $397 per ton (Down -66.9%)
- Zambia: $402 per ton (Down -10.7%)
Eight among the above tofu supplying countries offer average unit prices less than the global average unit value of $390 per ton.
The greatest percentage drop from 2019 to 2020 is -66.9% for suppliers in Poland, albeit the corresponding average unit price for tofu furnished by Poland is above the worldwide per-ton average of $390.
Year over year, the strongest rise in average unit price was the 820.6% acceleration from $34 per ton for tofu exported from Togo.
Highest Average Unit Prices for Tofu Exports by Country
The following 10 tofu supplying nations charge an average unit price as high as 19 times greater than the global average of $390 per ton.
The average unit price for per ton of tofu soyabean flour and meal is US$390 per ton in 2020. The average unit price for tofu is -9.7% lower than an estimated $432 per ton during 2019.
Ranked starting with the costliest suppliers, listed below are the tofu exporters charging the greatest average unit prices in 2020.
- United Arab Emirates: US$7,400 per ton (Up 434.7% from 2019)
- Estonia: $6,000 per ton (Up 84.6%)
- Singapore: $5,571 per ton (Up 197.1%)
- Japan: $5,396 per ton (Down -15.1%)
- Denmark: $4,123 per ton (Down -13.9%)
- Sweden: $3,714 per ton (Up 161%)
- Sri Lanka: $3,000 per ton (Up 200%)
- Myanmar: $3,000 per ton (Up 500%)
- Luxembourg: $3,000 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
- Guatemala: $2,750 per ton (Up 337.9%)
The average unit price for the above high-cost exporters of tofu is $4,395 per ton. That metric is 11 times greater than tofu’s global average tonnage price of $390.
The severest percentage drop from 2019 to 2020 is -15.1% for suppliers in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan.
The biggest rise in average unit price was the 500% uptick for tofu exported from Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Top Tofu Exporters by Weight
In terms of weight, a total 3.3 million tons in key tofu ingredients were exported during 2020.
Tonnage of globally exported tofu increased by 10.9% from 2019 to 2020.
Below, you will find the top 15 exporters of tofu sorted in descending order starting with the heaviest total shipments by tonnage.
- United States: 2,865,442 tons (Up 13.3% from 2019)
- Italy: 131,896 tons (Down -9.3%)
- Bolivia: 76,129 tons (Up 77.9%)
- Portugal: 32,931 tons (Up 7.7%)
- Zambia: 29,112 tons (Up 54.6%)
- India: 23,724 tons (Up 10.6%)
- Serbia: 22,144 tons (Up 17.7%)
- Austria: 14,976 tons (Down -8.2%)
- Germany: 13,046 tons (Up 57%)
- Netherlands: 8,724 tons (Down -69.2%)
- Hungary: 7,918 tons (Up 122.7%)
- Ethiopia: 7,886 tons (Up 304.2%)
- Belgium: 7,083 tons (Down -76%)
- Canada: 5,546 tons (Down -20.9%)
- Spain: 5,107 tons (Down -5.8%)
By weight, shipments of tofu from the United States were over 7 times greater than the subtotal for the other 14 competitors listed above.
The 3 fastest weight increases from 2019 to 2020 were posted by tofu exporters in Ethiopia (up 304.2%), Hungary (up 122.7%), Bolivia (up 77.9%), Germany (up 57%) and Zambia (up 54.6%).
The most dramatic annual drops in shipment weight are attributed to shippers in Belgium (down -76%), Netherlands (down -69.2%), Canada (down -20.9%) and Italy (down -9.3%).
See also Soya Beans Exports by Country, Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Top Red Meat Exporters Ranked by Dollar Value, Top Ginger Exporters and Top Vitamins Exports & Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, China Exporters of Tofu Supplements. Accessed on January 21, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on January 21, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 21, 2022
SELF, 10 of the Cheapest Healthy Foods You Can Buy. Accessed on January 21, 2022
Wikipedia, Tofu. Accessed on January 21, 2022
