Skip links

World's Top Exports

Trade metrics that inspire global thinking

Header Right

Top Brazil Nuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

by

Shelled Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts
In 2022, exports of Brazil nuts were worth a total US$340.1 million.

Exports of Brazil nuts dropped in value by an overall average -24.8% since 2018 when export sales for Brazil nuts were $452.4 million.

Year over year, worldwide export revenues flatlined via -0.8% compared to $340.1 million in 2021 for the smooth, buttery and relatively big nuts.

Raw Brazil nuts seeds come from the fruits of Brazil nut trees, one of the largest and oldest trees in the Amazon rainforest. However, the highest dollar value of shelled Brazil nuts come from exporters in Venezuela.

Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, a valued antioxidant that bolsters the quality of blood flow, resistance to disease, and defends against inflammation.

Besides serving as unique additions to nut mixtures, Brazil nuts are used to make unsaturated fatty acid oils.

By value, the 5 biggest exporters of Brazil nuts (Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands) sold 91% of all shelled and unshelled Brazil nuts exported during 2022.

Applying a continental perspective, countries in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean supplied the highest dollar worth of exported Brazil nuts during 2022 with shipments valued at $267.1 million or 78.5% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Europe (16.1%) trailed by sellers in Africa (2.4%), North America (2.1%), Asia (0.9%) then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia.

Shifting our focus to imports, the 5 leading importers of Brazil nuts in 2022 were the United States of America, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Canada. Collectively, that quintet of top import countries bought 61.9% of globally imported Brazil nuts as measured by dollar value.

The above percentages suggest the total 62 exporters of Brazil nuts (91% for the corresponding top 5 exporters) is a more concentrated cohort compared to 118 buying countries, islands and territories. The top 5 importers accounted for a smaller share of its world total for imported Brazil nuts at 61.9%.

As for global imports of Brazil nuts by continent, 51.8% of Brazil nuts purchased on international markets was delivered to customers in Europe ahead of importers in North America (30.3%), Asia (8.4%), Latin America (4.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania (3.5%) led by Australia, and Africa (1.4%).

We calculated the average unit price paid by importers of Brazil nuts still in-shell to be $2,139 per ton in 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 20.7% uptick from the average tonnage rate of $1,772 during 2021.

Exports of shelled Brazil nuts demand a much higher unit price. For shelled Brazil nuts, the average unit price paid by importers was $8,611 per ton in 2022 up by 19.8% from the average tonnage rate of $7,188 for 2021. The higher average price results in part from shelling labor costs and other processing expenses.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 080121 for fresh or dried Brazil nuts in shell, and 080122 for fresh or dried shelled Brazil nuts.

Drilling down on those categories, 92.6% of Brazil nuts exported worldwide by value were for shelled Brazil nuts. The remaining 7.4% was paid for Brazil nuts in shell, up from 4.8% for 2021.

Top Brazil Nuts Exports by Country

Below are the top 20 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of Brazil nuts during 2022, regardless of whether the shipped Brazil nuts were in-shell or shelled.

  1. Bolivia: US$197.4 million (58.1% of total Brazil nut exports)
  2. Peru: $36.1 million (10.6%)
  3. Brazil: $33.3 million (9.8%)
  4. Germany: $27 million (7.9%)
  5. Netherlands: $15.8 million (4.6%)
  6. Nigeria: $7 million (2%)
  7. United States: $5.7 million (1.7%)
  8. Spain: $3 million (0.9%)
  9. United Kingdom: $2.6 million (0.8%)
  10. South Korea: $1.44 million (0.4%)
  11. Italy: $1.41 million (0.4%)
  12. Canada: $1.3 million (0.4%)
  13. Mozambique: $1.1 million (0.3%)
  14. Vietnam: $843,000 (0.2%)
  15. Greece: $628,000 (0.2%)
  16. Czech Republic: $590,000 (0.2%)
  17. Lithuania: $588,000 (0.2%)
  18. Poland: $577,000 (0.2%)
  19. Estonia: $467,000 (0.1%)
  20. Türkiye: $397,000 (0.1%)

By value, the listed 20 countries shipped 99.2% of globally exported Brazil nuts in 2022.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of Brazil nuts since 2021 were: Türkiye (up 1,223%), South Korea (up 1,063%), Bolivia (up 25.6%) and Greece (up 11.5%).

Those countries that posted declines in their sales of exported Brazil nuts were led by: Mozambique (down -66.8% from 2021), Nigeria (down -53%), Poland (down -40.6%), Lithuania (down -33.6%) and the Netherlands (down -26.8%).

Top Brazil Nuts Imports by Country

Overall spending on imported Brazil nuts slipped by -23.2% over the 5-year period starting in 2018 but increased by 9% year over year since 2021.

Below are the 20 best buying markets as measured by the highest dollar value worth of Brazil nuts imported during 2022, for any Brazil nuts regardless of whether shelled or not.

  1. United States: US$83.9 million (25.7% of total imported Brazil nuts)
  2. Germany: $55.4 million (17%)
  3. United Kingdom: $32.3 million (9.9%)
  4. Netherlands: $15.5 million (4.7%)
  5. Canada: $15 million (4.6%)
  6. France: $12.8 million (3.9%)
  7. Italy: $10 million (3.1%)
  8. Peru: $9.6 million (2.9%)
  9. South Korea: $9 million (2.7%)
  10. Australia: $8.5 million (2.6%)
  11. Spain: $7.5 million (2.3%)
  12. Poland: $5.5 million (1.7%)
  13. Vietnam: $5.4 million (1.7%)
  14. Belgium: $3.5 million (1.1%)
  15. Switzerland: $3.3 million (1%)
  16. Israel: $3.2 million (1%)
  17. New Zealand: $3 million (0.9%)
  18. Czech Republic: $2.9 million (0.9%)
  19. Austria: $2.8 million (0.9%)
  20. Colombia: $2.3 million (0.7%)

By value, the listed 20 countries bought 89.3% of globally imported Brazil nuts in 2022.

Among the top importers, the fastest-growing importers of Brazil nuts since 2021 were: Vietnam (up 1,565%), Canada (up 90.3%), Israel (up 70.7%) and Australia (up 31.5%).

Those countries that posted declines in their imported Brazil nuts purchases were led by: South Korea (down -54.3% from 2021), Colombia (down -27.3%), France (down -25.6%), Poland (down -24.1%) and the Czech Republic (down -23.6%).

Imported In-Shell Brazil Nuts: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2022, the world’s average unit price for imports of in-shell Brazil nuts was US$1,904 per ton.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of unshelled Brazil nuts (by weight), Peru, was lower at $1,521.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported in-shell Brazil nuts in 2022.

  1. Mauritania: US$125 per ton (down -21.9% from 2021)
  2. Brunei Darussalam: $304 per ton (down -3.2%)
  3. Vietnam: $974 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  4. Kazakhstan: $1,000 per ton (up 133.1%)
  5. Bolivia: $1,120 per ton (up 75.5%)
  6. India: $1,278 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  7. Suriname: $1,333 per ton (up 9.5%)
  8. Peru: $1,521 per ton (up 8.9%)
  9. Belgium: $2,563 per ton (up 15.3%)
  10. Spain: $2,740 per ton (up 13.5%)
  11. Canada: $2,800 per ton (down -1.5%)
  12. South Africa: $3,000 per ton (down -40%)
  13. Portugal: $3,421 per ton (down -8.7%)
  14. Kenya: $3,667 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  15. United Kingdom: $4,015 per ton (down -32.6%)

There were 3 double-digit reductions in average unit price paid per ton for in-shell Brazil nuts from 2021 to 2022. These were low-cost importers South Africa (down -40%), United Kingdom (down -32.6%) and Mauritania (down -21.9%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported in-shell Brazil nuts.

  1. Netherlands: US$24,000 per ton (up 225.2% from 2021)
  2. Austria: $18,500 per ton (up 19.4%)
  3. Iceland: $18,200 per ton (down -45.4%)
  4. Switzerland: $16,000 per ton (up 300%)
  5. Sweden: $11,250 per ton (up 47.5%)
  6. Luxembourg: $10,000 per ton (up 66.7%)
  7. Bulgaria: $9,250 per ton (up 293.6%)
  8. Estonia: $9,000 per ton (down -18.2%)
  9. Lithuania: $8,333 per ton (down -5.7%)
  10. Romania: $8,000 per ton (up 14.3%)
  11. Greece: $7,500 per ton (up 275%)
  12. Norway: $7,250 per ton (down -15.9%)
  13. Bahrain: $7,000 per ton (up 148.8%)
  14. Malta: $7,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  15. Libya: $6,490 per ton (up 4.7%)

Triple-digit accelerations in terms of higher average unit prices paid in 2022 compared to 2021 were experienced by importers in Switzerland (up 300%), Bulgaria (up 293.6%), Greece (up 275%), Netherlands (up 225.2%) and Bahrain (up 148.8%).

Imported Shelled Brazil Nuts: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2022, the world’s average unit price for imports of shelled Brazil nuts was US$8,611 per ton.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of shelled Brazil nuts, United States of America, was higher at $9,636.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported Brazil nuts in 2022 that that have already had their shells removed.

  1. Laos: US$667 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  2. Kyrgyzstan: $1,000 per ton (up 110.5% from 2021)
  3. Kazakhstan: $1,009 per ton (up 2%)
  4. Peru: $2,433 per ton (up 134.4%)
  5. Colombia: $2,775 per ton (down -0.6%)
  6. Botswana: $3,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  7. Mongolia: $3,000 per ton (down -57.1%)
  8. Brazil: $3,621 per ton (up 31%)
  9. Venezuela: $4,300 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  10. Panama: $4,500 per ton (up 12.5%)
  11. Estonia: $5,352 per ton (down -53.3%)
  12. Indonesia: $5,400 per ton (down -55%)
  13. Fiji: $5,500 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  14. United Arab Emirates: $5,587 per ton (down -42.2%)
  15. Belarus: $5,753 per ton (up 42.8%)

The strongest reductions in average unit price paid per ton for shelled Brazil nuts belong to low-cost importers in Mongolia (down -57.1% from 2021), Indonesia (down -55%), Estonia (down -53.3%) and the United Arab Emirates (down -42.2%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported Brazil nuts without their shells .

  1. Finland: US$256,000 per ton (up 3,015% from 2021)
  2. Bermuda: $20,000 per ton (up 11.1%)
  3. Hong Kong: $15,333 per ton (down -9.8%)
  4. Guatemala: $15,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  5. Taiwan: $13,259 per ton (up 29.1%)
  6. Switzerland: $13,103 per ton (up 12.2%)
  7. Iceland: $13,000 per ton (up 23.8%)
  8. Oman: $13,000 per ton (down -9.7%)
  9. Luxembourg: $12,625 per ton (up 37.2%)
  10. Moldova: $12,500 per ton (up 44.2%)
  11. Mauritius: $11,667 per ton (up 16.7%)
  12. Montenegro: $11,000 per ton (up 50.7%)
  13. Curaçao: $11,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  14. Hungary: $10,714 per ton (up 17.9%)
  15. Latvia: $10,625 per ton (up 6.5%)

The greatest increases in terms of higher average unit prices paid in 2022 compared to 2021 were experienced by importers of shelled Brazil nuts in Finland (up 3,015%), Montenegro (up 50.7%), Moldova (up 44.2%), Luxembourg (up 37.2%) and Taiwan (up 29.1%).

See also Top Peanuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Almonds Exporters by Country, Top Walnut Exporters by Country and Top Cashews Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Pistachios Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Hazelnuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices and Top Chestnuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Brazil Nut Showroom. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 28, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Wikipedia, Brazil nut. Accessed on September 28, 2023

Wikipedia, Selenium. Accessed on September 28, 2023