Year over year, globally exported cork expanded in sales by 15.9% from $1.9 billion for 2020.
An impermeable, buoyant, elastic and fire-retardant material, cork is made from bark tissue. Commercial uses of cork include wine stoppers, bulletin boards, wall or floor tiles and even spacecraft heat shields.
The world’s 3 biggest cork sellers are Portugal, Spain and France. Collectively, this trio of major suppliers generated 84.9% of the overall value of cork-related exports during 2021. Such a high percentage indicates a concentrated set of product exporters.
From a continental perspective, suppliers in European countries furnished the highest dollar worth of exported cork during 2021 with shipments valued at $1.74 billion or 93.4% of the global total. Asian exporters placed a distant second at 2.4% ahead of shippers in Africa (1.7%).
Even tinier percentages originated North America (1.4%), Latin America (1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania (0.1%) mostly Australia.
For research purposes, the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 45. That code prefix encompasses both cork as a material and items made from cork.
Top Cork Exporting Countries by Revenue
Below are the 15 countries that sold the highest dollar value worth of exported cork during 2021.
- Portugal: US$1.3 billion (60.9% of total cork exports)
- Spain: $406.8 million (18.5%)
- France: $121 million (5.5%)
- Italy: $52.7 million (2.4%)
- China: $40.2 million (1.8%)
- Germany: $33.7 million (1.5%)
- Chile: $26.7 million (1.2%)
- United States: $21.1 million (1%)
- Poland: $15.4 million (0.7%)
- Denmark: $15.2 million (0.7%)
- Morocco: $13 million (0.6%)
- Algeria: $12.9 million (0.6%)
- Tunisia: $8.2 million (0.4%)
- Austria: $7.7 million (0.3%)
- Belgium: $7.5 million (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.5% of global cork exported in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of cork since 2020 were: Algeria (up 57.4%), Chile (up 47.2%), mainland China (up 42.3%) and Poland (up 32.9%).
Morocco was the lone major supplier to post a decline in its international sales of cork via a -3.4% reduction.
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Cork
The following countries posted positive net exports for cork 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 cork and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Portugal: US$1.1 billion (net export surplus up 14.2% since 2020)
- Spain: $203 million (up 20%)
- Algeria: $12.4 million (up 55.9%)
- Morocco: $11.3 million (down -7.8%)
- Tunisia: $7.6 million (up 45.5%)
- Denmark: $7.6 million (up 166.1%)
- Poland: $751,000 (reversing a -$2.4 million deficit)
- Palestine: $42,000 (reversing a -$122,000 deficit)
- Tanzania: $35,000 (down -20.5%)
- Guyana: $21,000 (reversing a -$9,000 deficit)
- Tonga: $2,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- US Minor Outlying Islands: $1,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Nauru: $1,000 (2020 data unavailable)
Portugal generated the highest surplus in the international trade of cork. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Portgual’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Trade Deficits from Cork
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for cork 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 cork purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$298.9 million (net export deficit up 10.3% since 2020)
- France: -$225.9 million (up 17.9%)
- Italy: -$160.7 million (up 10.6%)
- Germany: -$96.8 million (up 16.7%)
- Mexico: -$51.6 million (up 31.9%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$45.3 million (down -8.1%)
- Argentina: -$44.2 million (up 18.4%)
- Russia: -$38.2 million (down -3.1%)
- United Kingdom: -$31.8 million (up 43.4%)
- Chile: -$25.2 million (down -13.5%)
- Switzerland: -$23.5 million (up 13.9%)
- Canada: -$20.8 million (up 10.9%)
- Australia: -$16.1 million (down -32.2%)
- Japan: -$13.8 million (down -3.1%)
- South Africa: -$13.4 million (up 41.3%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of cork. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for cork-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Cork Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following cork export companies are examples of suppliers for either cork materials or commercial items made from cork like wine stoppers or beverage coasters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- Bleile Bodenbelage Handel Und Dienstleistungen (Germany)
- Bunkado Printing Co, Ltd (Japan)
- Changzhou Huakang Cork Co, Ltd (China)
- dollaritemdirect.com Inc (United States)
- Eurotrading Collection SL (Spain)
- Fukutomi Technologies Pte Ltd (Singapore)
- Hanipole FH (Poland)
- ISO Cork (Algeria)
- Portugalia Cork SA (Portugal)
- Studio Assoiciato Miraglia & Mattia (Italy)
Searchable List of Cork Exporting Countries in 2021
The exporters showcased in the following automated database were responsible for 100% of globally exported cork during 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Cork Exports | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Portugal | $1,338,125,000 | +15.2% |
| 2. | Spain | $406,816,000 | +20.4% |
| 3. | France | $120,950,000 | +19.2% |
| 4. | Italy | $52,713,000 | +8.9% |
| 5. | China | $40,245,000 | +42.3% |
| 6. | Germany | $33,691,000 | +4.5% |
| 7. | Chile | $26,736,000 | +47.2% |
| 8. | United States | $21,091,000 | +8.4% |
| 9. | Poland | $15,417,000 | +32.9% |
| 10. | Denmark | $15,160,000 | +24.6% |
| 11. | Morocco | $13,028,000 | -3.4% |
| 12. | Algeria | $12,868,000 | +57.4% |
| 13. | Tunisia | $8,179,000 | +30.6% |
| 14. | Austria | $7,650,000 | +30.5% |
| 15. | Belgium | $7,543,000 | +13.2% |
| 16. | Switzerland | $7,215,000 | +15.8% |
| 17. | Netherlands | $7,134,000 | +6.7% |
| 18. | United Kingdom | $7,112,000 | +8.7% |
| 19. | Hungary | $4,721,000 | +107.3% |
| 20. | Canada | $4,542,000 | +27.6% |
| 21. | India | $4,498,000 | +36.3% |
| 22. | Vietnam | $3,571,000 | +295.9% |
| 23. | Saudi Arabia | $3,132,000 | +3.2% |
| 24. | Australia | $3,116,000 | +91.5% |
| 25. | Taiwan | $2,972,000 | +56.4% |
| 26. | Mexico | $2,927,000 | +19.9% |
| 27. | Ukraine | $2,340,000 | +126.3% |
| 28. | Japan | $2,339,000 | -2.6% |
| 29. | Bulgaria | $2,184,000 | +17.2% |
| 30. | Russia | $1,851,000 | +12.7% |
| 31. | Lithuania | $1,640,000 | +65.2% |
| 32. | Czech Republic | $1,592,000 | +30.3% |
| 33. | Sweden | $1,540,000 | +12% |
| 34. | United Arab Emirates | $1,034,000 | -95.7% |
| 35. | South Korea | $866,000 | +76.7% |
| 36. | Turkey | $804,000 | +0.2% |
| 37. | Philippines | $638,000 | +12.9% |
| 38. | Greece | $611,000 | +161.1% |
| 39. | South Africa | $580,000 | -25.4% |
| 40. | Hong Kong | $540,000 | +158.4% |
| 41. | Romania | $537,000 | +168.5% |
| 42. | Singapore | $505,000 | -44.4% |
| 43. | Panama | $504,000 | -63.2% |
| 44. | Slovakia | $467,000 | +7.1% |
| 45. | Belarus | $398,000 | -27.9% |
| 46. | Thailand | $372,000 | -49.5% |
| 47. | Argentina | $361,000 | +77.8% |
| 48. | Serbia | $275,000 | +21.7% |
| 49. | Brazil | $260,000 | +17.6% |
| 50. | Slovenia | $255,000 | +7.6% |
| 51. | Lebanon | $234,000 | +377.6% |
| 52. | Norway | $204,000 | +172% |
| 53. | Georgia | $201,000 | +79.5% |
| 54. | Jordan | $183,000 | +1933% |
| 55. | Malaysia | $182,000 | +160% |
| 56. | Bahrain | $145,000 | -49.7% |
| 57. | Israel | $141,000 | +123.8% |
| 58. | Moldova | $139,000 | +63.5% |
| 59. | Latvia | $138,000 | -9.8% |
| 60. | Croatia | $130,000 | -41.4% |
| 61. | Finland | $116,000 | +100% |
| 62. | Barbados | $115,000 | +248.5% |
| 63. | Colombia | $108,000 | +42.1% |
| 64. | Peru | $108,000 | +52.1% |
| 65. | Jamaica | $70,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Tanzania | $69,000 | +21.1% |
| 67. | Estonia | $55,000 | -67.8% |
| 68. | New Zealand | $54,000 | +170% |
| 69. | Kuwait | $51,000 | +240% |
| 70. | Palestine | $43,000 | -69.7% |
| 71. | Ireland | $39,000 | -45.1% |
| 72. | Indonesia | $38,000 | -77.8% |
| 73. | Egypt | $28,000 | +1300% |
| 74. | Luxembourg | $27,000 | -78.4% |
| 75. | Guyana | $22,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Trinidad/Tobago | $19,000 | +375% |
| 77. | Syria | $18,000 | +500% |
| 78. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $12,000 | +20% |
| 79. | Qatar | $5,000 | -95.9% |
| 80. | Mauritius | $5,000 | -28.6% |
| 81. | Nicaragua | $4,000 | 0% |
| 82. | Ghana | $4,000 | -98.4% |
| 83. | Kyrgyzstan | $4,000 | +300% |
| 84. | Iran | $3,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Iceland | $3,000 | 0% |
| 86. | Oman | $3,000 | -89.3% |
| 87. | Aruba | $2,000 | 0% |
| 88. | Tonga | $2,000 | 0% |
| 89. | US Minor Outlying Is | $2,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Guatemala | $2,000 | 0% |
| 91. | Dominican Republic | $2,000 | 0% |
| 92 | Costa Rica | $1,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Bangladesh | $1,000 | -66.7% |
| 94. | Nauru | $1,000 | 0% |
The fastest-growing exporters of cork from 2020 to 2021 were Jordan (up 1,933%), Egypt (up 1,300%), Syria (up 500%), Lebanon (up 377.6%), Trinidad and Tobago (up 375%), Kyrgyzstan (up 300%) and Vietnam (up 295.9%).
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 Plastic Item Exports by Country, Sawn Wood Exports by Country, Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country, Top Glass and Glassware Exports by Country and Portugal’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier information for cork. Accessed on August 6, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 6, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 6, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 6, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 6, 2022
Wikipedia, Cork (material). Accessed on August 6, 2022
