That dollar amount reflects an average 33.2% increase for all charcoal shippers from $1.27 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the value of globally exported charcoal rose 20.8% compared to $1.4 billion during 2021.
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, Laos, Vietnam and Poland. Combined, that quintet of leading charcoal exporters collected roughly half (50.6%) of revenues from globally exported wood charcoal in 2022.
Among continents, suppliers in Asia exported the highest dollar worth of charcoal during 2022 with shipments valued at $1 billion or almost three-fifths (59.7%) of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 22.1% while another 8.1% of worldwide charcoal shipments originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Africa (6.7%), North America (3.4%), and Oceania (0.01%) mostly Fiji and Australia.
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 2022.
- Indonesia: US$360.3 million (21.3% of total charcoal exports)
- China: $207.8 million (12.3%)
- Laos: $98.3 million (5.8%)
- Vietnam: $97.5 million (5.8%)
- Poland: $93.1 million (5.5%)
- Philippines: $81.5 million (4.8%)
- Namibia: $75.8 million (4.5%)
- Ukraine: $71.3 million (4.2%)
- Paraguay: $61 million (3.6%)
- India: $57.1 million (3.4%)
- Cuba: $46.8 million (2.8%)
- United Arab Emirates: $43.5 million (2.6%)
- Mexico: $37.2 million (2.2%)
- Germany: $34.7 million (2%)
- Netherlands: $29.2 million (1.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped more than four-fifths (82.3%) of globally exported charcoal in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing charcoal exporters since 2021 were: Paraguay (up 27,605%), Laos (up 1,470%), United Arab Emirates (up 356.1%) and Vietnam (up 28.4%).
Five major suppliers recorded declines in their exported charcoal sales, namely: Netherlands (down -27.4% from 2021), Mexico (down -16.2%), Poland (down -13.6%), Germany (down -4.5%) and Ukraine (down -3.2%).
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for charcoal during 2022. 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$359.6 million (net export surplus up 23.6% since 2021)
- Laos: $98.2 million (up 1,470%)
- Vietnam: $91.4 million (up 37.4%)
- Philippines: $81.2 million (up 3.4%)
- Namibia: $75.7 million (up 21.6%)
- Ukraine: $69.9 million (down -2.0%)
- Paraguay: $60.9 million (reversing a -$70,000 deficit)
- Poland: $48.8 million (down -18.6%)
- India: $47.8 million (up 23.9%)
- Cuba: $46.8 million (up 25.8%)
- Mexico: $35.8 million (down -15.6%)
- mainland China: $26.3 million (down -69.7%)
- Bosnia/Herzegovina: $12.6 million (up 26.3%)
- Venezuela: $9.7 million (up 18.4%)
- Argentina: $7.9 million (down -58.2%)
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 2022. 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$121.2 million (net export deficit up 10.6% since 2021)
- South Korea: -$120.6 million (up 36.6%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$105.5 million (up 9%)
- United States of America: -$86.8 million (down -10.5%)
- Iraq: -$79.2 million (up 79.5%)
- United Kingdom: -$63.3 million (up 3.8%)
- France: -$62.5 million (up 9.8%)
- Germany: -$62.3 million (up 0.8%)
- Bhutan: -$44.8 million (up 29%)
- Norway: -$43.9 million (up 47.8%)
- Senegal: -$42.4 million (up 51,645%)
- Lebanon: -$40.9 million (up 91.2%)
- Greece: -$37.6 million (up 32%)
- Italy: -$32.1 million (up 3.7%)
- Türkiye: -$24.1 million (up 199.1%)
Densely populated 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 2022
Accounting for 99.99% of globally exported charcoal in 2022, the 100 key suppliers of wood charcoal on international markets are highlighted in the following automated database.
| Rank | Exporter | Charcoal Exports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $360,325,000 | +23.4% |
| 2. | China | $207,819,000 | +18.9% |
| 3. | Laos | $98,300,000 | +1470% |
| 4. | Vietnam | $97,499,000 | +28.4% |
| 5. | Poland | $93,115,000 | -13.6% |
| 6. | Philippines | $81,450,000 | +2.4% |
| 7. | Namibia | $75,813,000 | +21.6% |
| 8. | Ukraine | $71,319,000 | -3.2% |
| 9. | Paraguay | $60,950,000 | +27605% |
| 10. | India | $57,120,000 | +26.2% |
| 11. | Cuba | $46,836,000 | +25.8% |
| 12. | United Arab Emirates | $43,481,000 | +356.1% |
| 13. | Mexico | $37,192,000 | -16.2% |
| 14. | Germany | $34,700,000 | -4.5% |
| 15. | Netherlands | $29,156,000 | -27.4% |
| 16. | Spain | $28,992,000 | +61.9% |
| 17. | South Africa | $26,301,000 | -6.6% |
| 18. | Malaysia | $21,136,000 | -2.4% |
| 19. | Portugal | $18,757,000 | +6% |
| 20. | United States | $18,281,000 | -30.5% |
| 21. | Belgium | $16,401,000 | +17.4% |
| 22. | Türkiye | $14,638,000 | +18.3% |
| 23. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $13,706,000 | +26.8% |
| 24. | Russia | $12,586,000 | -22.6% |
| 25. | Thailand | $10,233,000 | +3.6% |
| 26. | Venezuela | $9,828,000 | +19.6% |
| 27. | France | $9,738,000 | +17.5% |
| 28. | Argentina | $8,084,000 | -57.4% |
| 29. | Sri Lanka | $7,550,000 | +39.1% |
| 30. | Latvia | $7,398,000 | -2.2% |
| 31. | Egypt | $6,946,000 | -4.2% |
| 32. | Croatia | $6,820,000 | -32.4% |
| 33. | Denmark | $5,342,000 | +124% |
| 34. | Bangladesh | $4,574,000 | +33.8% |
| 35. | Serbia | $4,371,000 | -12.6% |
| 36. | Colombia | $3,982,000 | -27.7% |
| 37. | Brazil | $2,706,000 | -55.7% |
| 38. | United Kingdom | $2,678,000 | -20.8% |
| 39. | Belarus | $2,661,000 | -63.1% |
| 40. | Canada | $2,645,000 | +110.3% |
| 41. | Romania | $1,956,000 | -48.5% |
| 42. | Italy | $1,797,000 | -25.2% |
| 43. | Hungary | $1,753,000 | +29.8% |
| 44. | Ghana | $1,679,000 | +47.7% |
| 45. | Sweden | $1,667,000 | +48.6% |
| 46. | Japan | $1,599,000 | -25.9% |
| 47. | Bolivia | $1,475,000 | +66.1% |
| 48. | Greece | $1,446,000 | +71.1% |
| 49. | Lithuania | $1,443,000 | -37.5% |
| 50. | Singapore | $1,262,000 | +29% |
| 51. | Austria | $1,228,000 | -19.9% |
| 52. | Ivory Coast | $1,062,000 | +267.5% |
| 53. | Bulgaria | $923,000 | -36.1% |
| 54. | Slovakia | $900,000 | -41.9% |
| 55. | Dominican Republic | $860,000 | +144.3% |
| 56. | Norway | $843,000 | +108.1% |
| 57. | El Salvador | $737,000 | -20.7% |
| 58. | Czech Republic | $719,000 | +96.4% |
| 59. | Slovenia | $695,000 | +3.1% |
| 60. | Tunisia | $627,000 | +169.1% |
| 61. | Nicaragua | $609,000 | +2.7% |
| 62. | Estonia | $595,000 | +25% |
| 63. | Iran | $556,000 | -74.8% |
| 64. | Jordan | $455,000 | -4.8% |
| 65. | Taiwan | $428,000 | +26.6% |
| 66. | Bhutan | $405,000 | +73.8% |
| 67. | South Korea | $388,000 | -38.3% |
| 68. | Sudan | $363,000 | -69% |
| 69. | Luxembourg | $337,000 | +65.2% |
| 70. | Hong Kong | $324,000 | +17.8% |
| 71. | Kazakhstan | $317,000 | +24.3% |
| 72. | Ireland | $250,000 | +273.1% |
| 73. | Lebanon | $225,000 | -36.6% |
| 74. | Switzerland | $194,000 | +189.6% |
| 75. | Guyana | $189,000 | -22.5% |
| 76. | North Macedonia | $178,000 | +612% |
| 77. | Armenia | $170,000 | +1033% |
| 78. | Zimbabwe | $166,000 | +1560% |
| 79. | Georgia | $158,000 | +1480% |
| 80. | Kyrgyzstan | $130,000 | 0% |
| 81. | Iraq | $123,000 | +68.5% |
| 82. | Panama | $119,000 | -21.7% |
| 83. | Uzbekistan | $117,000 | +631.3% |
| 84. | Finland | $116,000 | -40.8% |
| 85. | Myanmar | $109,000 | +3.8% |
| 86. | Fiji | $105,000 | -51.6% |
| 87. | Tanzania | $92,000 | +268% |
| 88. | Ethiopia | $88,000 | +2100% |
| 89. | Azerbaijan | $85,000 | +226.9% |
| 90. | South Sudan | $77,000 | +862.5% |
| 91. | Sierra Leone | $72,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Cambodia | $47,000 | +370% |
| 93. | Eswatini | $43,000 | -17.3% |
| 94. | Honduras | $40,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Saudi Arabia | $39,000 | 0% |
| 96. | Australia | $30,000 | -94.5% |
| 97. | Israel | $29,000 | -38.3% |
| 98. | Nigeria | $26,000 | -99.5% |
| 99. | Cameroon | $25,000 | +177.8% |
| 100. | Comoros | $23,000 | 0% |
Focusing on the 100 major exporters, the fastest-growing sellers of charcoal on international markets are located in Paraguay (up 27,605% from 2021), Ethiopia (up 2,100%), Zimbabwe (up 1,560%), Georgia (up 1,480%), Laos (up 1,470%) then Armenia (up 1,033%).
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 2021 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 23, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 23, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 23, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 23, 2023
Patel Vidhu, 6 Differences Between Coal and Charcoal. Accessed on August 28, 2022
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on August 23, 2023
Wikipedia, Charcoal. Accessed on August 23, 2023
