Overall, the value of natural honey exports fell by an average -14.4% for all exporting countries since 2015 when natural honey shipments were valued at $2.3 billion. Year over year, global exports of natural honey decreased in value by -12.5% from 2018 to 2019.
Among continents, European countries sold the highest dollar worth of natural honey exported during 2019 with shipments amounting to $838.6 million or 42.1% of overall international honey sales. That percentage compares with 24.4% from Asian exporters, 13.5% from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and 13.4% from Oceania (mostly New Zealand and Australia). Smaller percentages came North America (6%) and Africa (0.5%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for natural honey is 0409.
Natural Honey Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of natural honey during 2019.
- China: US$235.3 million (11.8% of exported natural honey)
- New Zealand: $228.8 million (11.5%)
- Argentina: $146.7 million (7.4%)
- Germany: $131.5 million (6.6%)
- Ukraine: $113.3 million (5.7%)
- India: $99.6 million (5%)
- Spain: $92.1 million (4.6%)
- Hungary: $82.5 million (4.1%)
- Brazil: $67.9 million (3.4%)
- Belgium: $64.1 million (3.2%)
- Vietnam: $57.4 million (2.9%)
- Mexico: $55.7 million (2.8%)
- Romania: $44.5 million (2.2%)
- Poland: $43.2 million (2.2%)
- Canada: $41.3 million (2.1%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 75.5% of global natural honey exports in 2019 by value.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing natural honey exporters since 2015 were: Ukraine (up 34.9%), Poland (up 33.6%), New Zealand (up 14.4%) and Hungary (up 10%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported natural honey sales were led by: Mexico (down -64.3%), Vietnam (down -44.2%), Belgium (down -24.2%), Canada (down -20.8%) and China (down -18.5%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for natural honey during 2019. 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 natural honey exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- New Zealand: US$227.3 million (net export surplus up 14.1% since 2015)
- China: $150.4 million (down -29.7%)
- Argentina: $146.5 million (down -10.4%)
- Ukraine: $113.2 million (up 35%)
- India: $97.8 million (down -18.3%)
- Hungary: $82.5 million (up 16.4%)
- Brazil: $67.9 million (down -16.9%)
- Mexico: $55.7 million (down -64.3%)
- Vietnam: $55.7 million (down -44.6%)
- Bulgaria: $36.9 million (up 7.6%)
- Romania: $35.6 million (down -10.6%)
- Spain: $33.7 million (up 12.9%)
- Turkey: $24.6 million (down -1.9%)
- Cuba: $17 million (down -18.2%)
- Uruguay: $16.2 million (down -64.4%)
New Zealand generated the highest surplus in the international trade of natural honey. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the Oceania island nation’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for natural honey during 2019. 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 natural honey import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$406.8 million (net export deficit down -30% since 2015)
- Japan: -$144.2 million (up 23.1%)
- Germany: -$118.1 million (down -40.9%)
- France: -$88.4 million (down -8.5%)
- United Kingdom: -$80.2 million (down -28.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$63.1 million (up 93%)
- Italy: -$54.9 million (up 34.2%)
- Netherlands: -$34.4 million (down -11.4%)
- Switzerland: -$31.2 million (down -2.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$21.9 million (down -14.8%)
- Sweden: -$21.8 million (up 29%)
- Poland: -$18.6 million (up 20.7%)
- Singapore: -$18 million (down -0.8%)
- Hong Kong: -$17.2 million (down -56.1%)
- Ireland: -$11.8 million (up 0.5%)
United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of natural honey. In turn, this negative cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for natural honey-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand from American consumers.
Companies
Natural Honey Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are also examples of natural honey-trading companies located in the country shown within parentheses.
- Capilano Honey Ltd (Australia)
- Caprilush International (Mexico)
- Duc Cuong Phat Company Limited (Vietnam)
- Dutch Golld Honey (United States)
- Groeb Farms, Inc (United States)
- Navrang SL (Spain)
- Nuxten Health Ltd (New Zealand)
- Rowse Honey Ltd (United Kingdom)
- Zanchetta Alimentos LTDA (Brazil)
- Zhejiang Jiangshan Bee Enterprise Co, Ltd (China)
In addition, here are 5 other multinational honey suppliers based on searches from global trade intelligence firm Zepol.
- Bee Honey (Vietnam)
- Compania Inversora Platens (Argentina)
- Honeyma (Argentina)
- Miel Mex (Mexico)
- Mieles Del Mayab (Mexico)
Searchable List of Natural Honey Exporting Countries in 2019
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of the columns. The right-most column highlights the percentage change in the value of exported natural honey from 2018 to 2019. (An entry of 0% in that column means no 2018 data is available.)
| Rank | Exporter | Natural Honey Exports (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $235,314,000 | -5.6% |
| 2. | New Zealand | $228,775,000 | -6.8% |
| 3. | Argentina | $146,700,000 | -16.3% |
| 4. | Germany | $131,491,000 | -6.9% |
| 5. | Ukraine | $113,314,000 | +15.6% |
| 6. | India | $99,594,000 | -2.3% |
| 7. | Spain | $92,134,000 | -14.5% |
| 8. | Hungary | $82,459,000 | -4.9% |
| 9. | Brazil | $67,879,000 | -28.9% |
| 10. | Belgium | $64,105,000 | -17.9% |
| 11. | Vietnam | $57,382,000 | -12.8% |
| 12. | Mexico | $55,741,000 | -53.7% |
| 13. | Romania | $44,504,000 | -9.7% |
| 14. | Poland | $43,158,000 | +0.5% |
| 15. | Canada | $41,319,000 | -32.5% |
| 16. | Bulgaria | $41,128,000 | -2.5% |
| 17. | Australia | $37,654,000 | +14.8% |
| 18. | France | $29,980,000 | -6.3% |
| 19. | United Kingdom | $29,966,000 | -10.4% |
| 20. | Italy | $27,797,000 | -12.2% |
| 21. | Turkey | $24,733,000 | -3.6% |
| 22. | United States | $23,310,000 | -8.5% |
| 23. | Thailand | $19,823,000 | -17.6% |
| 24. | Netherlands | $19,460,000 | -8.4% |
| 25. | Austria | $17,129,000 | +19.5% |
| 26. | Cuba | $16,993,000 | -3.2% |
| 27. | Uruguay | $16,276,000 | +15.4% |
| 28. | Denmark | $15,820,000 | +3.1% |
| 29. | Greece | $14,728,000 | -19.6% |
| 30. | Chile | $12,517,000 | -56.9% |
| 31. | Portugal | $12,502,000 | +17.8% |
| 32. | Moldova | $11,934,000 | +1.6% |
| 33. | Serbia | $10,071,000 | -19% |
| 34. | Saudi Arabia | $9,938,000 | -30.4% |
| 35. | Pakistan | $9,617,000 | +36.6% |
| 36. | Yemen | $7,078,000 | -50% |
| 37. | Ireland | $6,517,000 | +37.4% |
| 38. | Russia | $5,565,000 | +18.9% |
| 39. | Czech Republic | $5,012,000 | -5.5% |
| 40. | Switzerland | $4,925,000 | -22.3% |
| 41. | Lithuania | $4,922,000 | +48.3% |
| 42. | Egypt | $3,732,000 | -20.2% |
| 43. | Hong Kong | $3,620,000 | +8.2% |
| 44. | Singapore | $3,560,000 | -53.7% |
| 45. | Guatemala | $3,531,000 | -24.1% |
| 46. | Myanmar (Burma) | $3,469,000 | +11.3% |
| 47. | Taiwan | $3,241,000 | -8.5% |
| 48. | Nicaragua | $2,468,000 | -37.8% |
| 49. | South Africa | $2,425,000 | -0.1% |
| 50. | Zambia | $2,297,000 | -28.6% |
| 51. | Slovenia | $2,294,000 | -16.1% |
| 52. | El Salvador | $2,129,000 | -52.2% |
| 53. | Kyrgyzstan | $2,005,000 | +34.4% |
| 54. | Croatia | $1,951,000 | -12.6% |
| 55. | Indonesia | $1,616,000 | +77.6% |
| 56. | Sweden | $1,465,000 | +74.8% |
| 57. | Norway | $1,117,000 | +130.8% |
| 58. | Malaysia | $998,000 | +0.6% |
| 59. | Dominican Republic | $941,000 | -22.6% |
| 60. | Slovakia | $835,000 | -31.8% |
| 61. | United Arab Emirates | $803,000 | -87.1% |
| 62. | Ethiopia | $751,000 | +129% |
| 63. | North Macedonia | $594,000 | -11.1% |
| 64. | Latvia | $581,000 | -28.7% |
| 65. | Kazakhstan | $572,000 | +13.7% |
| 66. | Bangladesh | $409,000 | +167.3% |
| 67. | Israel | $379,000 | +42.5% |
| 68. | Estonia | $356,000 | -26.7% |
| 69. | Japan | $276,000 | -5.8% |
| 70. | Morocco | $274,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Belarus | $242,000 | +49.4% |
| 72. | Madagascar | $239,000 | -31.5% |
| 73. | Iran | $231,000 | -97.5% |
| 74. | Kuwait | $220,000 | -51.2% |
| 75. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $206,000 | +106% |
| 76. | Tanzania | $176,000 | -44.7% |
| 77. | South Korea | $171,000 | -24.7% |
| 78. | Armenia | $158,000 | -38.8% |
| 79. | Jordan | $150,000 | -94.6% |
| 80. | Sierra Leone | $121,000 | -49.8% |
| 81. | Lebanon | $100,000 | -89.9% |
| 82. | Luxembourg | $91,000 | +30% |
| 83. | Andorra | $90,000 | +8,900% |
| 84. | Laos | $70,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Cyprus | $58,000 | -14.7% |
| 86. | Georgia | $56,000 | +460% |
| 87. | Bolivia | $56,000 | +3.7% |
| 88. | Oman | $49,000 | -98.5% |
| 89. | Finland | $45,000 | -67.9% |
| 90. | Guinea | $41,000 | +95.2% |
| 91. | Azerbaijan | $34,000 | -52.1% |
| 92. | Sudan | $31,000 | +29.2% |
| 93. | Kenya | $30,000 | -87.4% |
| 94. | Mauritius | $27,000 | +17.4% |
| 95. | Costa Rica | $27,000 | 0% |
| 96. | Eswatini | $24,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Niue | $21,000 | -66.1% |
| 98. | Senegal | $20,000 | -20% |
| 99. | Qatar | $19,000 | -74% |
| 100. | Peru | $14,000 | +40% |
| 101. | Uzbekistan | $14,000 | -92.2% |
| 102. | New Caledonia | $12,000 | 0% |
| 103. | Albania | $12,000 | 0% |
| 104. | Uganda | $10,000 | +400% |
| 105. | Burkina Faso | $10,000 | 0% |
| 106. | Tajikistan | $8,000 | -79.5% |
| 107. | Libya | $7,000 | 0% |
| 108. | Paraguay | $6,000 | 0% |
| 109. | Rwanda | $5,000 | -90% |
| 110. | Malta | $5,000 | -50% |
| 111. | Grenada | $5,000 | 0% |
| 112. | Mozambique | $4,000 | 0% |
| 113. | Namibia | $4,000 | 0% |
| 114. | Nepal | $4,000 | -95.7% |
| 115. | Pitcairn | $3,000 | -25% |
| 116. | Jamaica | $3,000 | -25% |
| 117. | Cameroon | $3,000 | 0% |
| 118. | Ghana | $2,000 | +100% |
| 119. | Guyana | $1,000 | -85.7% |
| 120. | Ecuador | $1,000 | -83.3% |
| 121. | Botswana | $1,000 | -50% |
| 122. | Bermuda | $1,000 | 0% |
| 123. | North Korea | $1,000 | 0% |
| 124. | Mongolia | $1,000 | -91.7% |
See also Natural Honey Imports by Country, Bananas Exports by Country and Sugar Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier information for natural honey. Accessed on April 29, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on April 29, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 29, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 29, 2020
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on April 29, 2020
