Located at the confluence of the northern Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Cuba shipped US$1.23 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That estimated dollar amount results from a -37.3% decline from $2 billion five years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the total value of Cuban exports dropped -11.4% compared to $1.39 billion for 2024.

Cuba’s 5 most valuable exports are cigars and cigarettes, alcoholic beverages including spirits and liqueurs, zinc ores and concentrates, nickel matte and oxide sinters, and wood charcoal. That leading quintet represents 53.5% of the total value for Cuban exports during 2025, a relatively strong concentration of export products.

Best Cuban Exports Customers

The latest available country-specific data from 2022 shows that 40.4% of products exported from Cuba was bought by importers in: Spain (19% of the Cuban total), mainland China (9.6%), Germany (2.2%), France (1.6%), Venezuela (1.5%), Canada (1.31%), Hong Kong (1.29%), Cyprus (1%), Belgium (0.78%), Italy (0.76%), Mexico (0.69%) and Greece (0.63%).

From a continental perspective, 60.4% of Cuba’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 26.7% was sold to importers in Asia. Cuba shipped another 8.3% worth of goods to buyers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Smaller percentages went to customers located in North America (4.1%), Oceania’s (0.3%) Australia and New Zealand only, then Africa (0.2%).

Given Cuba’s population of 10.9 million people, its total US$1.23 billion worth of exported products in 2025 translates to roughly $115 for every resident in the Caribbean island country. That dollar metric lags the average $120 per capita one year earlier during 2024.

Cuba’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Cuban global shipments during 2025, at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Cuba.

1. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: US$469.8 million (38.1% of total exports)
2. Ores, slag, ash: $172.2 million (14%)
3. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $120.9 million (9.8%)
4. Nickel: $87.9 million (7.1%)
5. Wood: $59.7 million (4.8%)
6. Fish: $41.5 million (3.4%)
7. Collector items, art, antiques: $40.6 million (3.3%)
8. Copper: $36.7 million (3.0%)
9. Aluminum: $19.4 million (1.6%)
10. Pharmaceuticals: $18.4 million (1.5%)

Cuba’s top 10 exported product categories account for 86.5% of the value for the Caribbean country’s overall shipments.

Collector items, art and antiques represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 383.9% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was beverages, spirits and vinegar via a 59% advance.

Cuba’s shipments of copper posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 49.5%.

The leading decliner among Cuba’s top 10 export categories was fish thanks to a -26.5% year-over-year drop.

Drilling down to the more detailed 4-digit HTS codes, Cuba’s 10 most valuable exports are cigars and cigarettes (43.3% of the Cuban total), alcoholic beverages including spirits and liqueurs (11.1%), nickel matte and oxide sinters (8.2%), wood charcoal (5.4%), precious metal ores and concentrates (4.3%), live fish (3.4%), hand-drawn paintings and drawings (3.3%), crustaceans including lobsters (3%), then aluminum waster and scrap (1.7%).

Products Generating Cuba’s Greatest Trade Surpluses

The following types of Cuban product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: US$350.7 million (Down by -6.8% since 2024)
2. Ores, slag, ash: $134.5 million (Down by -17.5%)
3. Nickel: $63.6 million (Down by -24.7%)
4. Collector items, art, antiques: $31.7 million (Up by 280.9%)
5. Wood: $27.9 million (Down by -9.5%)
6. Copper: $18.1 million (Up by 12.9%)
7. Fish: $17.6 million (Down by -59.1%)
8. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $3.4 million (Reversing a -$458,000 deficit)
9. Lead: $735,000 (Reversing a -$6,000 deficit)
10. Live animals: $109,000 (Down by -11.4%)

Cuba has highly positive net exports in the international trade of tobacco and related products. In turn, these cashflows indicate Cuba’s strong competitive advantages under the tobacco and manufactured substitutes product category.

Products Causing Cuba’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall, Cuba incurred an estimated -US$4.3 billion trade deficit for 2025. That negative balance represents a 38.2% expansion from -$3.1 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.

Below are exports from Cuba that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Cuba’s goods trail Cuban importer spending on foreign products.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: -US$654.4 million (Up by 71.2% since 2024)
2. Vehicles: -$560.9 million (Up by 90.7%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$532.4 million (Down by -0.6%)
4. Meat: -$477.8 million (Up by 4.2%)
5. Cereals: -$274.8 million (Up by 54.9%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: -$242 million (Up by 89.3%)
7. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$170.4 million (Down by -4.3%)
8. Dairy, eggs, honey: -$159.6 million (Up by 9.2%)
9. Cereal/milk preparations: -$159 million (Up by 31.1%)
10. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$127.4 million (Up by 21.4%)

Cuba has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under machinery-related product categories.

Cuban Export Companies

No Cuban corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Cuba. Selected examples are shown below.

• Cubana de Aviación (airline)
• Cubatabaco (tobacco)
• Cuba Petróleo Unión (oil, gas)
• Havana Club (rum)
• Modelo Brewery (beer)

 

One key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Cuba’s unemployment rate averaged 1.7% for 2025, down from an average 1.8% during 2024 according to Trading Economics metrics.

Cuba’s capital city is Havana.

See also Russia’s Top 10 Imports, Russia’s Top Trading Partners, Sugar Exports by Country and Beer Imports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on May 23, 2026

Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 23, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 23, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 23, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Cuba. Accessed on May 23, 2026

Wikipedia, Cuba. Accessed on May 23, 2026

WorldOMeter, Cuba Population. Accessed on May 23, 2026