Year over year, the value of globally exported charcoal grew by 8.1% compared to $1.33 billion during 2020.
Light gray in color, charcoal results from the slow heating of wood or other combustible substances in an oxygen-less environment. This process contrasts with the millions of years involved for coal, a black natural mineral and fossil fuel formed under the earth’s crust under high temperature and intense pressure.
Other differences are that charcoal produces more heat and is a cleaner fuel than coal. In addition to generating energy and producing heat for cooking, black powder from charcoal is used in creating purification filters as well as producing fireworks.
The 5 biggest exporters of wood charcoal by sales are Indonesia, mainland China, Poland, Philippines, and Vietnam. Combined, that quintet of leading charcoal exporters collected over half (51%) of revenues from globally exported wood charcoal in 2021.
Among continents, suppliers in Asia exported the highest dollar worth of charcoal during 2021 with shipments valued at $738.2 million or more than half (51.3%) of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 27.3% while another 8.7% of worldwide charcoal shipments originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Smaller percentages came from Africa (7.6%), North America (5%), and Oceania (0.1%) mainly Australia and Fiji.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 4402 for wood charcoal.
Top Charcoal Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of charcoal during 2021.
- Indonesia: US$292.1 million (20.3% of total charcoal exports)
- China: $174.8 million (12.2%)
- Poland: $107.8 million (7.5%)
- Philippines: $79.6 million (5.5%)
- Vietnam: $79.5 million (5.5%)
- Ukraine: $73.8 million (5.1%)
- Namibia: $64.7 million (4.5%)
- Paraguay: $47.7 million (3.3%)
- India: $45.3 million (3.1%)
- Mexico: $44.4 million (3.1%)
- Netherlands: $40.2 million (2.8%)
- Cuba: $37.1 million (2.6%)
- Germany: $34.1 million (2.4%)
- South Africa: $28.2 million (2%)
- United States: $26.2 million (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped more than four-fifths (81.8%) of globally exported charcoal in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing charcoal exporters since 2020 were: Netherlands (up 92.7%), Philippines (up 65.9%), India (up 39.1%) and Paraguay (up 37.4%).
Four major providers posted declines in their exported charcoal sales namely Mexico (down -13.4%), Cuba (down -9.4%), Poland (down -4.8%) then mainland China (down -3.4%).
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for charcoal during 2021. 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 exported charcoal and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: US$291 million (net export surplus up 7.2% since 2020)
- China: $86.9 million (down -21.2%)
- Philippines: $78.5 million (up 65.7%)
- Vietnam: $71.9 million (up 23%)
- Ukraine: $71.6 million (up 7.3%)
- Namibia: $64.7 million (up 28.9%)
- Poland: $60 million (down -10.1%)
- Paraguay: $47.4 million (up 37.5%)
- Mexico: $42.5 million (down -14.2%)
- India: $38.6 million (up 43.8%)
- Cuba: $37.1 million (down -9.4%)
- Argentina: $18.8 million (up 24.3%)
- Bosnia/Herzegovina: $10 million (up 10.9%)
- South Africa: $8.6 million (down -24.7%)
- Venezuela: $7.1 million (up 29.8%)
World-leading Indonesia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Indonesian competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for charcoal during 2021. 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 imported charcoal purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Japan: -US$109.6 million (net export deficit up 3.4% since 2020)
- United States: -$97.2 million (up 20.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$96.8 million (up 18%)
- South Korea: -$88.2 million (down -6%)
- United Kingdom: -$61.7 million (up 1.8%)
- Germany: -$59.5 million (down -13.2%)
- France: -$57 million (down -8.2%)
- Iraq: -$43.2 million (up 11.8%)
- Bhutan: -$34.7 million (up 24.7%)
- Italy: -$32.5 million (up 16.1%)
- Norway: -$29.7 million (up 7.4%)
- Belgium: -$29.6 million (reversing an -$867,000 deficit)
- Greece: -$28.5 million (up 10%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$27 million (up 31.6%)
- Sweden: -$24.6 million (up 42%)
Japan incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for charcoal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Charcoal Exporting Companies
The following suppliers are examples of charcoal-trading exporters.
- Basques Hardwood Charcoal (Canada)
- Dolimex SRL (Paraguay)
- HBE Trading (Netherlands)
- Jiangshan Luyi Bamboo Charcoal Co (China)
- Kim Ban Marketing (Malaysia)
- Sumber Jaya (Indonesia)
- UA Wood LLC (Ukraine)
- Vietgo Company Limited (Vietnam)
The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
Searchable List of Charcoal Exporting Countries in 2021
Accounting for 99.99% of globally exported charcoal in 2021, the 100 key suppliers of wood charcoal on international markets are highlighted in the following automated database.
| Rank | Exporter | Charcoal Exports | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $292,058,000 | +7.3% |
| 2. | China | $174,842,000 | -3.4% |
| 3. | Poland | $107,783,000 | -4.8% |
| 4. | Philippines | $79,559,000 | +65.9% |
| 5. | Vietnam | $79,515,000 | +24.7% |
| 6. | Ukraine | $73,837,000 | +6.8% |
| 7. | Namibia | $64,748,000 | +28.8% |
| 8. | Paraguay | $47,676,000 | +37.4% |
| 9. | India | $45,274,000 | +39.1% |
| 10. | Mexico | $44,406,000 | -13.4% |
| 11. | Netherlands | $40,230,000 | +92.7% |
| 12. | Cuba | $37,144,000 | -9.4% |
| 13. | Germany | $34,116,000 | +3.3% |
| 14. | South Africa | $28,170,000 | +12.8% |
| 15. | United States | $26,236,000 | +27.1% |
| 16. | Malaysia | $21,658,000 | -14.7% |
| 17. | Argentina | $18,991,000 | +25.3% |
| 18. | Spain | $17,910,000 | -22.3% |
| 19. | Russia | $16,255,000 | +22.7% |
| 20. | Portugal | $15,137,000 | +100.9% |
| 21. | Belgium | $13,967,000 | -65% |
| 22. | Turkey | $12,377,000 | +66.2% |
| 23. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $10,805,000 | +12.7% |
| 24. | Croatia | $10,086,000 | +37% |
| 25. | Thailand | $9,873,000 | +29.2% |
| 26. | France | $8,285,000 | -7.6% |
| 27. | Latvia | $7,561,000 | +34% |
| 28. | Egypt | $7,254,000 | +42.7% |
| 29. | Belarus | $7,202,000 | +8.8% |
| 30. | Venezuela | $7,085,000 | +28.1% |
| 31. | Brazil | $6,111,000 | -13.6% |
| 32. | Nigeria | $5,740,000 | +562.8% |
| 33. | Laos | $5,671,000 | +10.8% |
| 34. | Colombia | $5,508,000 | -4.4% |
| 35. | Sri Lanka | $5,428,000 | -18.6% |
| 36. | Serbia | $5,002,000 | -10.3% |
| 37. | Romania | $3,798,000 | +64.9% |
| 38. | Bangladesh | $3,419,000 | +20% |
| 39. | United Kingdom | $3,378,000 | +54.3% |
| 40. | Denmark | $2,741,000 | +57.1% |
| 41. | Lithuania | $2,308,000 | -16.8% |
| 42. | Iran | $2,205,000 | -21.4% |
| 43. | Japan | $2,158,000 | -31.8% |
| 44. | Slovakia | $1,548,000 | +15.4% |
| 45. | Italy | $1,503,000 | -6.1% |
| 46. | Bulgaria | $1,483,000 | +0.5% |
| 47. | Hungary | $1,372,000 | +31.3% |
| 48. | Austria | $1,263,000 | -6% |
| 49. | Canada | $1,258,000 | +10.8% |
| 50. | Sweden | $1,122,000 | -6.6% |
| 51. | Ghana | $1,080,000 | +289.9% |
| 52. | Ivory Coast | $1,003,000 | +268.8% |
| 53. | Singapore | $978,000 | -71.5% |
| 54. | El Salvador | $929,000 | +38% |
| 55. | Bolivia | $888,000 | +85.8% |
| 56. | Greece | $845,000 | +29.8% |
| 57. | United Arab Emirates | $703,000 | -91.2% |
| 58. | Sudan | $675,000 | -52.7% |
| 59. | Slovenia | $674,000 | +2.1% |
| 60. | South Korea | $629,000 | +58.8% |
| 61. | Nicaragua | $593,000 | +3.3% |
| 62. | Australia | $547,000 | +134.8% |
| 63. | Estonia | $476,000 | -17.2% |
| 64. | Norway | $405,000 | -72.8% |
| 65. | Czech Republic | $366,000 | +20% |
| 66. | Lebanon | $355,000 | +217% |
| 67. | Dominican Republic | $352,000 | +160.7% |
| 68. | Taiwan | $338,000 | -10.1% |
| 69. | Hong Kong | $275,000 | +65.7% |
| 70. | Guyana | $244,000 | -6.9% |
| 71. | Kazakhstan | $239,000 | +2073% |
| 72. | Bhutan | $233,000 | +24.6% |
| 73. | Tunisia | $233,000 | +135.4% |
| 74. | Fiji | $217,000 | +152.3% |
| 75. | Luxembourg | $204,000 | +61.9% |
| 76. | Finland | $196,000 | -26% |
| 77. | Panama | $152,000 | -4.4% |
| 78. | Israel | $115,000 | +666.7% |
| 79. | Myanmar | $105,000 | +105.9% |
| 80. | Jordan | $70,000 | -83.3% |
| 81. | Ireland | $67,000 | -97.9% |
| 82. | Switzerland | $67,000 | +3.1% |
| 83. | Eswatini | $52,000 | -59.4% |
| 84. | Kenya | $35,000 | -10.3% |
| 85. | Azerbaijan | $26,000 | +23.8% |
| 86. | Tanzania | $25,000 | +1150% |
| 87. | Angola | $20,000 | -86.8% |
| 88. | Guatemala | $18,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Afghanistan | $16,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Uzbekistan | $16,000 | +1500% |
| 91. | Armenia | $15,000 | +36.4% |
| 92. | Belize | $11,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Cambodia | $10,000 | -76.2% |
| 94. | Georgia | $10,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Zimbabwe | $10,000 | 0% |
| 96. | Trinidad/Tobago | $10,000 | -58.3% |
| 97. | Liberia | $9,000 | +28.6% |
| 98. | Equatorial Guinea | $9,000 | 0% |
| 99. | Costa Rica | $8,000 | +700% |
| 100. | Dem. Rep. Congo | $7,000 | 0% |
Focusing on the 100 major exporters, the fastest-growing sellers of charcoal on international markets are Kazakhstan (up 2,073% from 2020), Uzbekistan (up 1,500%), Tanzania (up 1,150%), Costa Rica (up 700%), Israel (up 666.7%) then Nigeria (up 562.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Sawn Wood Exports by Country, Coal Exports by Country, Electricity Exports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country and Top Sand Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Product showroom for charcoal. Accessed on August 8, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 8, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 8, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 8, 2022
Patel Vidhu, 6 Differences Between Coal and Charcoal. Accessed on August 28, 2021
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on August 8, 2022
Wikipedia, Charcoal. Accessed on August 8, 2022
