That dollar amount reflects an average 16% increase for all charcoal shippers from $1.32 billion five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the value of globally exported charcoal slowed by -3.9% gain compared to $1.59 billion starting from 2023.
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, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines and mainland China. Combined, that quintet of leading charcoal exporters collected approaching half (46.4%) of revenues from globally exported wood charcoal in 2024.
Among continents, suppliers based in Asia exported the highest dollar worth of charcoal during 2024 with shipments valued at $817.1 million or 53.4% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Europe at 24.1% while another 10.3% of worldwide charcoal shipments originated from Africa.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Latin America (9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (3.2%), and Oceania (0.1%) mostly 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 2024.
- Indonesia: US$351.4 million (23% of total charcoal exports)
- Laos: $102.2 million (6.7%)
- Vietnam: $92 million (6%)
- Philippines: $84.3 million (5.5%)
- mainland China: $80.4 million (5.3%)
- Ukraine: $78.8 million (5.1%)
- Poland: $77.3 million (5%)
- Namibia: $68.8 million (4.5%)
- Paraguay: $53.7 million (3.5%)
- Cuba: $48.8 million (3.2%)
- Nigeria: $46.9 million (3.1%)
- Netherlands: $45.5 million (3%)
- India: $39.4 million (2.6%)
- Germany: $29.2 million (1.9%)
- Mexico: $28.7 million (1.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped about four-fifths (80.2%) of globally exported charcoal in 2024.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing charcoal exporters since 2023 were: Nigeria (up 42,187%), Laos (up 789.8%), Philippines (up 13.1%) and the Netherlands (up 9.1%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported charcoal sales were led by: mainland China (down -45.7% from 2023), Mexico (down -42.1%), Cuba (down -21.5%), Poland (down -17.2%) and Germany (down -17.1%).
Searchable List of Charcoal Exporting Countries in 2024
Accounting for 99.98% of globally exported charcoal in 2024, the 100 key suppliers of wood charcoal on international markets are highlighted in the following automated database.
| Rank | Exporter | Charcoal Exports | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $351,375,000 | -9.7% |
| 2. | Laos | $102,240,000 | +789.8% |
| 3. | Vietnam | $91,984,000 | +8.5% |
| 4. | Philippines | $84,274,000 | +13.1% |
| 5. | mainland China | $80,369,000 | -45.7% |
| 6. | Ukraine | $78,802,000 | +5.8% |
| 7. | Poland | $77,289,000 | -17.2% |
| 8. | Namibia | $68,768,000 | +0.6% |
| 9. | Paraguay | $53,724,000 | +1.4% |
| 10. | Cuba | $48,809,000 | -21.5% |
| 11. | Nigeria | $46,939,000 | +42187% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $45,532,000 | +9.1% |
| 13. | India | $39,367,000 | +1% |
| 14. | Germany | $29,204,000 | -17.1% |
| 15. | Mexico | $28,694,000 | -42.1% |
| 16. | Malaysia | $22,596,000 | +11.3% |
| 17. | Spain | $21,958,000 | -6.8% |
| 18. | South Africa | $20,227,000 | -36.6% |
| 19. | United States | $17,805,000 | -6.2% |
| 20. | Egypt | $16,363,000 | +40.5% |
| 21. | Portugal | $16,240,000 | -26.7% |
| 22. | France | $16,002,000 | -9.4% |
| 23. | Bangladesh | $14,792,000 | +41.1% |
| 24. | Belgium | $14,503,000 | -54.7% |
| 25. | Argentina | $10,715,000 | +2.4% |
| 26. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $9,972,000 | -21% |
| 27. | Russia | $9,482,000 | +23.9% |
| 28. | Thailand | $8,899,000 | -14.7% |
| 29. | Türkiye | $7,930,000 | -16.9% |
| 30. | Venezuela | $7,585,000 | -42.8% |
| 31. | Sri Lanka | $6,929,000 | +22.6% |
| 32. | Latvia | $6,366,000 | -20% |
| 33. | Norway | $6,117,000 | -16.7% |
| 34. | Croatia | $6,032,000 | -16.1% |
| 35. | Slovakia | $4,839,000 | -10.7% |
| 36. | Bolivia | $4,656,000 | +116.6% |
| 37. | Denmark | $4,299,000 | +22.8% |
| 38. | Colombia | $4,045,000 | -22.4% |
| 39. | Brazil | $3,980,000 | +15.4% |
| 40. | Sweden | $3,125,000 | +76.2% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $3,026,000 | -8% |
| 42. | Serbia | $2,785,000 | -29% |
| 43. | Lithuania | $2,154,000 | +24.1% |
| 44. | Hungary | $1,987,000 | +11.5% |
| 45. | Greece | $1,985,000 | -3.8% |
| 46. | South Sudan | $1,812,000 | +234.3% |
| 47. | Canada | $1,799,000 | -44.6% |
| 48. | Italy | $1,632,000 | -39.3% |
| 49. | Japan | $1,605,000 | +7.1% |
| 50. | El Salvador | $1,334,000 | +36% |
| 51. | Slovenia | $1,295,000 | -33.1% |
| 52. | Kuwait | $1,267,000 | +1052% |
| 53. | Romania | $981,000 | -24.9% |
| 54. | Nicaragua | $925,000 | +9.9% |
| 55. | Australia | $848,000 | +73.1% |
| 56. | Ghana | $823,000 | +272.4% |
| 57. | Switzerland | $736,000 | -10.5% |
| 58. | Dominican Republic | $709,000 | -34.2% |
| 59. | Sudan | $707,000 | -49% |
| 60. | Zimbabwe | $665,000 | +63.8% |
| 61. | Austria | $658,000 | +13.4% |
| 62. | United Arab Emirates | $591,000 | -96.3% |
| 63. | Estonia | $509,000 | +48% |
| 64. | Kazakhstan | $506,000 | +12.9% |
| 65. | Panama | $447,000 | +321.7% |
| 66. | Iran | $444,000 | -77.3% |
| 67. | Fiji | $440,000 | +203.4% |
| 68. | Taiwan | $421,000 | +12.9% |
| 69. | Bhutan | $402,000 | -42.4% |
| 70. | Czech Republic | $394,000 | +5.3% |
| 71. | Angola | $379,000 | +29.4% |
| 72. | Finland | $367,000 | +221.9% |
| 73. | South Korea | $340,000 | -48.2% |
| 74. | Tunisia | $302,000 | -59.7% |
| 75. | Ireland | $275,000 | -22.3% |
| 76. | Guyana | $255,000 | -1.5% |
| 77. | Ivory Coast | $241,000 | -68.7% |
| 78. | Hong Kong | $172,000 | -91.5% |
| 79. | Jordan | $148,000 | -35.9% |
| 80. | Bulgaria | $144,000 | -12.2% |
| 81. | Luxembourg | $130,000 | +38.3% |
| 82. | Myanmar | $110,000 | -16.7% |
| 83. | Sierra Leone | $97,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Moldova | $95,000 | +102.1% |
| 85. | Singapore | $75,000 | -87.6% |
| 86. | Eswatini | $72,000 | +89.5% |
| 87. | North Macedonia | $62,000 | -38% |
| 88. | Lebanon | $56,000 | +36.6% |
| 89. | Uzbekistan | $50,000 | +127.3% |
| 90. | Oman | $37,000 | -94.8% |
| 91. | Belarus | $37,000 | -30.2% |
| 92. | Pakistan | $35,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Saudi Arabia | $33,000 | +3.1% |
| 94. | Cambodia | $31,000 | +933.3% |
| 95. | Suriname | $28,000 | 0% |
| 96. | Chile | $26,000 | +766.7% |
| 97. | Algeria | $26,000 | +116.7% |
| 98. | Ethiopia | $26,000 | +136.4% |
| 99. | Benin | $22,000 | -29% |
| 100. | Guatemala | $21,000 | 0% |
Focusing on the 100 major exporters, the fastest-growing sellers of charcoal on international markets are located in Nigeria (up 42,187% from 2023), Kuwait (up 1,052%), Cambodia (up 933.3%), Laos (up 789.8%) then Chile (up 766.7%).
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 2023 data was unavailable.
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for charcoal during 2024. 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$350.6 million (net export surplus down -9.7% since 2023)
- Laos: $102.2 million (up 794.3%)
- Vietnam: $89.2 million (up 8.8%)
- Philippines: $84.2 million (up 13.2%)
- Ukraine: $77.1 million (up 5.8%)
- Namibia: $68.6 million (up 0.4%)
- Paraguay: $53.5 million (up 1%)
- Cuba: $48.8 million (down -21.5%)
- Nigeria: $46.1 million (reversing a -$106,000 deficit)
- Poland: $35.1 million (down -32.2%)
- India: $34.4 million (up 0.9%)
- Mexico: $28 million (down -41.9%)
- Bangladesh: $14.8 million (up 41.3%)
- Egypt: $13.9 million (up 64.3%)
- Argentina: $10.7 million (up 2.7%)
World-leading wood charcoal supplier 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 2024. 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.
- Saudi Arabia: -US$124.5 million (net export deficit down -8% since 2023)
- Japan: -$120.1 million (down -5.9%)
- South Korea: -$118.3 million (down -16.7%)
- mainland China: -$113.6 million (up 84.5%)
- United States: -$98.5 million (up 3.6%)
- United Kingdom: -$59 million (up 17.5%)
- Iraq: -$56.2 million (down -10.7%)
- Germany: -$48.6 million (down -21.1%)
- France: -$43.7 million (down -9.5%)
- Greece: -$34.2 million (down -10%)
- Italy: -$33.1 million (down -14.1%)
- Bhutan: -$31.1 million (up 0.6%)
- Türkiye: -$28.4 million (up 9.2%)
- Norway: -$23.4 million (down -48.7%)
- Romania: -$22.8 million (down -7.3%)
Saudi Arabia and Japan incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages 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.
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 July 19, 2025
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 19, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 19, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 19, 2025
Patel Vidhu, 6 Differences Between Coal and Charcoal. Accessed on July 19, 2025
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on July 19, 2025
Wikipedia, Charcoal. Accessed on July 19, 2025