The overall value of exported plastic items rose by an average 42% for all exporting countries since 2017 when plastic items shipped worldwide were valued at $72.9 billion.
Year over year, the value of exported plastic items gained 19.8% from $86.3 billion during 2020.
The 5 biggest exporters of plastic items are mainland China, Germany, United States of America, Italy and France. By value, that cohort of major plastics exporters generated roughly 42% of globally exported items made from plastics.
From a continental perspective, countries in Asia sold the highest dollar value worth of exported plastic articles on international markets via a 48.8% share. In second place was Europe at 38.8%, trailed by suppliers in North America at 11%.
Tinier percentages came from Africa (0.6%), Latin America (0.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 3926 for articles made from plastics.
Plastic Item Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of plastic items during 2021.
- China: US$35.5 billion (34.3% of exported plastic items)
- Germany: $11.4 billion (11%)
- United States: $7.8 billion (7.5%)
- Italy: $3.7 billion (3.5%)
- France: $3.4 billion (3.3%)
- Poland: $3.1 billion (3%)
- Netherlands: $2.77 billion (2.7%)
- Japan: $2.4 billion (2.3%)
- Mexico: $2.3 billion (2.2%)
- Czech Republic: $2.18 billion (2.1%)
- Taiwan: $2.13 billion (2.1%)
- Hong Kong: $1.9 billion (1.8%)
- South Korea: $1.73 billion (1.7%)
- Belgium: $1.69 billion (1.6%)
- Vietnam: $1.63 billion (1.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 80.7% of global plastic items exported in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing plastic items exporters since 2020 were: Vietnam (up 37.5%), Poland (up 32.3%), mainland China (up 22.7%) and France (up 21.5%).
Those top suppliers that posted the most modest gains in their exported plastic items sales were: Hong Kong (up 11.6%), Japan (up 11.8%) and South Korea (up 11.9%).
Searchable List of Plastic Items Exporting Countries in 2021
The 100 key exporters of items made from plastic shown in the automated database below represent 99.97% of the overall value of plastic items exported during 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Plastic Items | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $35,454,084,000 | +22.7% |
| 2. | Germany | $11,414,995,000 | +18.3% |
| 3. | United States | $7,803,762,000 | +19.4% |
| 4. | Italy | $3,661,496,000 | +18.1% |
| 5. | France | $3,422,149,000 | +21.5% |
| 6. | Poland | $3,099,385,000 | +32.3% |
| 7. | Netherlands | $2,771,391,000 | +19.1% |
| 8. | Japan | $2,368,763,000 | +11.8% |
| 9. | Mexico | $2,257,008,000 | +14.9% |
| 10. | Czech Republic | $2,179,295,000 | +20.4% |
| 11. | Taiwan | $2,129,154,000 | +16% |
| 12. | Hong Kong | $1,878,639,000 | +11.6% |
| 13. | South Korea | $1,730,302,000 | +11.9% |
| 14. | Belgium | $1,688,088,000 | +16.8% |
| 15. | Vietnam | $1,630,699,000 | +37.5% |
| 16. | United Kingdom | $1,558,123,000 | +15.1% |
| 17. | Austria | $1,554,227,000 | +24.4% |
| 18. | Canada | $1,332,528,000 | +14.2% |
| 19. | Spain | $1,155,110,000 | +16.8% |
| 20. | Hungary | $1,121,276,000 | +22.2% |
| 21. | Thailand | $1,062,472,000 | +13% |
| 22. | Switzerland | $991,280,000 | +20.6% |
| 23. | India | $854,875,000 | +52.7% |
| 24. | Sweden | $850,954,000 | +15.9% |
| 25. | Singapore | $849,901,000 | +19.2% |
| 26. | Slovakia | $796,820,000 | +17.3% |
| 27. | Malaysia | $777,613,000 | +20.3% |
| 28. | Denmark | $719,968,000 | +11.9% |
| 29. | Turkey | $568,946,000 | +18.3% |
| 30. | Portugal | $524,382,000 | +14.6% |
| 31. | Israel | $511,732,000 | +40.2% |
| 32. | Romania | $505,179,000 | +16.1% |
| 33. | Slovenia | $413,554,000 | +27.6% |
| 34. | Tunisia | $313,172,000 | +15.7% |
| 35. | Ireland | $276,968,000 | +34.2% |
| 36. | Philippines | $234,827,000 | +55.3% |
| 37. | Finland | $230,086,000 | +9.7% |
| 38. | Lithuania | $199,989,000 | +3.7% |
| 39. | Indonesia | $180,942,000 | +20.6% |
| 40. | Russia | $177,576,000 | +26.9% |
| 41. | Australia | $136,051,000 | +15.3% |
| 42. | Brazil | $134,991,000 | +23.2% |
| 43. | Bulgaria | $130,481,000 | +28% |
| 44. | Estonia | $116,067,000 | +14.8% |
| 45. | South Africa | $108,589,000 | +25.5% |
| 46. | Morocco | $103,761,000 | +8.4% |
| 47. | Costa Rica | $100,265,000 | +8% |
| 48. | Greece | $97,134,000 | +62.6% |
| 49. | Dominican Republic | $94,064,000 | +31.7% |
| 50. | Latvia | $79,047,000 | +39.5% |
| 51. | New Zealand | $77,170,000 | +22.3% |
| 52. | Serbia | $73,772,000 | +53.4% |
| 53. | Belarus | $67,538,000 | +25.1% |
| 54. | Egypt | $66,348,000 | -15.1% |
| 55. | United Arab Emirates | $62,984,000 | -75.1% |
| 56. | Norway | $61,856,000 | +11.3% |
| 57. | El Salvador | $57,610,000 | +104.3% |
| 58. | Croatia | $51,666,000 | +18.1% |
| 59. | Iran | $47,665,000 | -29.4% |
| 60. | Cambodia | $43,724,000 | -24.3% |
| 61. | Panama | $43,445,000 | +31.7% |
| 62. | Luxembourg | $38,109,000 | -39.8% |
| 63. | Ukraine | $36,696,000 | +71.1% |
| 64. | Colombia | $35,588,000 | +21.7% |
| 65. | Malta | $32,210,000 | +13% |
| 66. | Guatemala | $26,236,000 | +10.3% |
| 67. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $24,276,000 | +33% |
| 68. | Peru | $21,591,000 | +40% |
| 69. | Togo | $20,338,000 | +23.3% |
| 70. | Argentina | $19,525,000 | +25.1% |
| 71. | Sri Lanka | $17,663,000 | -86.4% |
| 72. | Bangladesh | $17,103,000 | +3.6% |
| 73. | Chile | $12,731,000 | +1.4% |
| 74. | Oman | $10,472,000 | -17.8% |
| 75. | Albania | $8,726,000 | +149.7% |
| 76. | Myanmar | $8,680,000 | +124.5% |
| 77. | Pakistan | $6,973,000 | +6.2% |
| 78. | Kazakhstan | $6,153,000 | +41.5% |
| 79. | Lebanon | $5,274,000 | +11.9% |
| 80. | Saudi Arabia | $4,504,000 | +38.4% |
| 81. | Ecuador | $4,426,000 | +10.8% |
| 82. | Zambia | $4,176,000 | +41.5% |
| 83. | Kenya | $4,140,000 | -12.9% |
| 84. | Mauritania | $3,234,000 | +51.5% |
| 85. | North Macedonia | $2,712,000 | -21.4% |
| 86. | Cyprus | $2,372,000 | +2.6% |
| 87. | Trinidad/Tobago | $2,253,000 | +17.5% |
| 88. | Uruguay | $2,127,000 | +61.1% |
| 89. | Jordan | $2,001,000 | -92.3% |
| 90. | Kyrgyzstan | $1,957,000 | -55.4% |
| 91. | Mauritius | $1,928,000 | +86.8% |
| 92. | Namibia | $1,547,000 | +13.1% |
| 93. | Bahrain | $1,535,000 | -57.4% |
| 94. | Moldova | $1,534,000 | -17.1% |
| 95. | Armenia | $1,476,000 | +27.7% |
| 96. | Iceland | $1,285,000 | -20.1% |
| 97. | Paraguay | $1,261,000 | +13.5% |
| 98. | Uzbekistan | $1,208,000 | -8.8% |
| 99. | Ivory Coast | $1,123,000 | -29.5% |
| 100. | Venezuela | $994,000 | -36.1% |
The fastest-growing countries in terms of supplying exported plastic items to worldwide trade partners are: Albania (up 149.7% from 2020), Myanmar also called Burma (up 124.5%), El Salvador (up 104.3%), Mauritius (up 86.8%), Ukraine (up 71.1%) and Greece (up 62.6%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns in the above table. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2020 data was available.
See also Top Cork Exporting Countries, Sawn Wood Exports by Country, Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country and Paper Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 16, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 16, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 16, 2022
