Overall, the value of pork exports increased by an average 34.6% for all exporting countries since 2016 when pork shipments were valued at $27.5 billion. Year over year, total pork exports appreciated by 12.8% from 2019 to 2020.
The 5 major exporters of pork in 2020 were Spain, United States, Germany, Canada and Denmark. Collectively, that handful of suppliers provided almost two-thirds (63.3%) of swine meat exported worldwide.
From a continental perspective, $23.7 billion or 63.9% of all pork exports originated from Europe. In second place were North American exporters accounting for 27% worth.
Smaller percentages came from Latin America (7.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Asia (0.9%), Oceania mostly Australia (0.3%), and Africa (0.1%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 0203 for fresh, chilled or frozen swine meat.
Pork Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of pork during 2020.
- Spain: US$6.5 billion (17.4% of total pork exports)
- United States: $6 billion (16.1%)
- Germany: $4.7 billion (12.8%)
- Canada: $3.2 billion (8.5%)
- Denmark: $3.1 billion (8.4%)
- Netherlands: $2.9 billion (7.9%)
- Brazil: $2.1 billion (5.7%)
- Belgium: $1.4 billion (3.8%)
- France: $1.2 billion (3.2%)
- Mexico: $880 million (2.4%)
- Poland: $879.4 million (2.4%)
- Chile: $724.9 million (2%)
- Ireland: $544.1 million (1.5%)
- United Kingdom: $538.8 million (1.5%)
- Austria: $420.8 million (1.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94.7% of global pork exports in 2020.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing pork exporters from 2019 to 2020 were: Brazil (up 44.1%), Chile (up 40.5%), Mexico (up 26.2%) and Spain (up 25.9%).
Four countries posted declines in their exported pork sales namely Poland (down -7.9%), Germany (down -5.8%), Belgium (down -4.2%) and Austria (down -2.7%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for pork during 2020. 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 pork exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Spain: US$6.2 billion (net export surplus up 27.2% since 2019)
- United States: $4.9 billion (up 19.9%)
- Germany: $3.1 billion (down -2.8%)
- Denmark: $3 billion (up 13.6%)
- Canada: $2.6 billion (up 21.1%)
- Netherlands: $2.2 billion (up 7.4%)
- Brazil: $2.1 billion (up 44.1%)
- Belgium: $1.2 billion (down -6%)
- Chile: $457 million (up 70.1%)
- Ireland: $358.8 million (up 2%)
- France: $325.7 million (up 19.8%)
- Russia: $252.8 million (reversing a -$109.1 million deficit)
- Thailand: $102.9 million (up 311%)
- Austria: $97.8 million (up 63.2%)
- Finland: $59.5 million (up 315.9%)
Spain generated the highest surplus in the international trade of pork. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Spain’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for pork during 2020. 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 pork import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$11.8 billion (net export deficit up 170% since 2019)
- Japan: -$4.4 billion (down -4.1%)
- Italy: -$1.9 billion (down -12.7%)
- South Korea: -$1.4 billion (down -13.8%)
- Hong Kong: -$710 million (up 34.2%)
- Romania: -$674.3 million (down -2.8%)
- Poland: -$647 million (down -6%)
- Czech Republic: -$643.8 million (down -3.5%)
- United Kingdom: -$589.9 million (down -17.5%)
- Greece: -$447 million (down -18.5%)
- Mexico: -$426.3 million (down -49.8%)
- Australia: -$374.3 million (down -22.2%)
- Vietnam: -$327.1 million (reversing a $6.5 million surplus)
- Slovakia: -$307.6 million (up 6%)
- Singapore: -$296.8 million (up 29.6%)
Highly populated China and Japan incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of pork. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights both Asian nations’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for pork-supplying countries that help satisfy their powerful consumer demand for that specific commodity.
Companies
Top Global Pork Processing Companies
According to the 2016 Meat Atlas report (Der Fleischatlas), the following companies lead in worldwide meat sales including pork.
- JBS SA (Brazil)
- Tyson Food (United States)
- Cargill (Argentina)
- BRF (Brazil)
- Vion Food Group (Netherlands)
- Nippon Meat Packers (Japan)
- Smithfield Foods (United States, America’s largest pork producer)
- Marfrig Alimentos SA (Brazil)
- Danish Crown AmbA (Denmark, world’s biggest pork exporter)
- Hormel Foods (United States)
Searchable List of Pork Exporting Countries
All 85 countries that exported pork in 2020 are listed in the following database.
| Rank | Exporter | Pork Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Spain | $6,460,656,000 | +25.9% |
| 2. | United States | $5,985,996,000 | +14.7% |
| 3. | Germany | $4,747,691,000 | -5.8% |
| 4. | Canada | $3,153,992,000 | +21.6% |
| 5. | Denmark | $3,129,129,000 | +13% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $2,939,017,000 | +8.2% |
| 7. | Brazil | $2,120,464,000 | +44.1% |
| 8. | Belgium | $1,418,757,000 | -4.2% |
| 9. | France | $1,168,804,000 | +3.7% |
| 10. | Mexico | $879,982,000 | +26.2% |
| 11. | Poland | $879,362,000 | -7.9% |
| 12. | Chile | $724,893,000 | +40.5% |
| 13. | Ireland | $544,059,000 | +9.6% |
| 14. | United Kingdom | $538,830,000 | +7.7% |
| 15. | Austria | $420,807,000 | -2.7% |
| 16. | Hungary | $382,471,000 | -1.8% |
| 17. | Russia | $265,059,000 | +100.8% |
| 18. | Italy | $226,272,000 | +11.9% |
| 19. | Portugal | $131,456,000 | +42.5% |
| 20. | Finland | $112,767,000 | +34.8% |
| 21. | Thailand | $104,699,000 | +316.5% |
| 22. | Australia | $100,562,000 | +24.9% |
| 23. | China | $89,370,000 | -36.8% |
| 24. | Czech Republic | $74,010,000 | +4.1% |
| 25. | Hong Kong | $54,409,000 | -14.8% |
| 26. | Argentina | $51,318,000 | +79.8% |
| 27. | Sweden | $42,463,000 | -17.6% |
| 28. | Slovakia | $42,244,000 | -14.6% |
| 29. | Estonia | $31,959,000 | +4.1% |
| 30. | Vietnam | $31,837,000 | -48.4% |
| 31. | South Africa | $21,732,000 | -9.7% |
| 32. | Croatia | $20,537,000 | -10.4% |
| 33. | Lithuania | $16,697,000 | -13.2% |
| 34. | Japan | $15,037,000 | +74% |
| 35. | Singapore | $14,779,000 | +25.4% |
| 36. | Norway | $12,760,000 | +4.1% |
| 37. | Greece | $11,840,000 | +0.4% |
| 38. | Slovenia | $10,944,000 | -24.7% |
| 39. | Luxembourg | $10,606,000 | -4.6% |
| 40. | Latvia | $10,273,000 | +25.9% |
| 41. | Paraguay | $8,457,000 | -8.6% |
| 42. | Bulgaria | $6,635,000 | -46.5% |
| 43. | Costa Rica | $6,095,000 | +408.3% |
| 44. | Ukraine | $6,077,000 | +15.4% |
| 45. | Switzerland | $5,665,000 | +119.1% |
| 46. | Taiwan | $4,954,000 | +3,464% |
| 47. | Malaysia | $4,722,000 | +8.7% |
| 48. | Belarus | $4,310,000 | +43.2% |
| 49. | Romania | $3,826,000 | -58.8% |
| 50. | South Korea | $3,624,000 | +806% |
| 51. | Turkey | $2,798,000 | +57.8% |
| 52. | Serbia | $1,977,000 | -75.5% |
| 53. | Cyprus | $1,758,000 | +14.6% |
| 54. | Kazakhstan | $1,431,000 | -2.9% |
| 55. | India | $1,342,000 | -21.7% |
| 56. | Nicaragua | $881,000 | +511.8% |
| 57. | Namibia | $579,000 | -32.1% |
| 58. | New Zealand | $456,000 | -67.1% |
| 59. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $412,000 | -61.5% |
| 60. | Zambia | $321,000 | +111.2% |
| 61. | Faroe Islands | $216,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Iran | $167,000 | +67% |
| 63. | Zimbabwe | $157,000 | -25.6% |
| 64. | Kenya | $140,000 | -86.3% |
| 65. | Colombia | $74,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Eritrea | $55,000 | 0% |
| 67. | Egypt | $53,000 | +657.1% |
| 68. | Iceland | $44,000 | +1367% |
| 69. | North Macedonia | $30,000 | +130.8% |
| 70. | Mozambique | $29,000 | +190% |
| 71. | Oman | $21,000 | 0% |
| 72. | Sri Lanka | $18,000 | -92.9% |
| 73. | United Arab Emirates | $14,000 | -98.8% |
| 74. | Suriname | $10,000 | -99.1% |
| 75. | Venezuela | $9,000 | -90.2% |
| 76. | Morocco | $8,000 | +700% |
| 77. | Montenegro | $4,000 | -97.5% |
| 78. | Bermuda | $4,000 | -78.9% |
| 79. | Botswana | $3,000 | -95.4% |
| 80. | Falkland Is (Malvinas) | $3,000 | -98% |
| 81. | Peru | $3,000 | -81.3% |
| 82. | Senegal | $2,000 | +100% |
| 83. | Gibraltar | $2,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Maldives | $2,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Pakistan | $1,000 | 0% |
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column highlights the percentage change in the overall value of globally exported pork from 2019 to 2020. (An entry of 0% in that column means that 2019 data was unavailable.)
See also Pork Imports by Country, Big Export Sales for Frozen Shrimps, Top Beef Exporting Countries and Chicken Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 11, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 11, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 11, 2021
2016 Meat Atlas, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, Germany, and Friends of the Earth Europe, Brussels, Belgium. Accessed on June 11, 2021
