An iron-rich leafy green vegetable, worldwide exports of fresh or chilled spinach totaled US$800.1 million in 2021.

That dollar amount reflects an average 90.2% advance for all spinach shippers over the 5-year period starting from $321 million in 2017.

Year over year, the value of globally exported spinach increased by 39.8% compared to $572.2 million during 2020.

The top 5 most lucrative exporters of fresh spinach in 2021 were mainland China, United States of America, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. Collectively, those 5 leading suppliers accounted for 90.2% of overall revenues from the world’s spinach exports. Such a high percentage indicates a strongly concentrated cohort of spinach exporters.

Among continents, suppliers in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exported fresh spinach during 2021 with shipments valued at $313.2 million or well over a third (39.1%) of the global total. Close behind were European exporters at 30.7% barely ahead of spinach shippers in North America at another 29.7%.

Tinier percentages came from Oceania (0.3%) mostly Australia, Latin America (0.08%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.03%).

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for fresh or chilled spinach is 070970.

Spinach Exports by Country

1. China: US$306.6 million (38.3% of total spinach exports)
2. United States: $139.4 million (17.4%)
3. Italy: $107.1 million (13.4%)
4. Mexico: $91.7 million (11.5%)
5. Spain: $76.8 million (9.6%)
6. Netherlands: $34.3 million (4.3%)
7. Canada: $6.9 million (0.9%)
8. France: $5 million (0.6%)
9. Malaysia: $4.7 million (0.6%)
10. Germany: $3.6 million (0.5%)
11. Portugal: $3.3 million (0.4%)
12. Belgium: $3 million (0.4%)
13. Poland: $2.38 million (0.3%)
14. Denmark: $2.35 million (0.3%)
15. Australia: $2.35 million (0.3%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.7% of globally exported fresh spinach in 2021.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of spinach since 2020 were: mainland China (up 135.2%), Poland (up 70.3%), Portugal (up 68%) and Italy (up 36%).

Five major suppliers posted declines in their international sales of spinach namely Belgium (down -23.2%), Denmark (down -15.5%), Netherlands (down -12.3%), Germany (down -1.8%), then the United States of America (down -0.6%).

Countries Benefiting from Largest Trade Surpluses from Fresh Spinach

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for spinach 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 spinach and its import purchases for that same commodity.

1. China: US$306.6 million (net export surplus up 135.2% since 2020)
2. Italy: $105.7 million (up 35.9%)
3. Spain: $74.9 million (up 15.8%)
4. Mexico: $65.2 million (up 26.3%)
5. United States: $50.9 million (down -19.5%)
6. Netherlands: $9.2 million (down -47.3%)
7. Australia: $2.3 million (up 32%)
8. Portugal: $1.9 million (up 180.6%)
9. Malaysia: $1.2 million (down -49.1%)
10. North Macedonia: $898,000 (up 124.5%)
11. Azerbaijan: $468,000 (up 29.6%)
12. Turkey: $387,000 (up 99.5%)
13. Guatemala: $334,000 (up 14.8%)
14. South Africa: $224,000 (down -6.3%)
15. Hungary: $145,000 (up 663.2%)

Overtaking the United States of America in 2020, mainland China generated the highest surplus in the international trade of spinach. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

Countries Enduring Largest Trade Deficits from Fresh Spinach

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for spinach 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 spinach purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

1. Canada: -US$305.2 million (net export surplus down -1% since 2020)
2. United Kingdom: -$48.4 million (up 10.1%)
3. Germany: -$45.7 million (up 41.7%)
4. Belgium: -$18.7 million (up 36.4%)
5. Singapore: -$16.4 million (up 0.8%)
6. Poland: -$8.9 million (up 15.3%)
7. Switzerland: -$8.6 million (up 22.4%)
8. France: -$6.1 million (up 14.8%)
9. Denmark: -$4.8 million (up 38.3%)
10. Czech Republic: -$4.5 million (up 26%)
11. Sweden: -$4 million (down -18.8%)
12. Russia: -$3.96 million (up 26.2%)
13. Norway: -$3.7 million (up 18.8%)
14. Finland: -$3.68 million (up 53.8%)
15. Ireland: -$3 million (down -17.9%)

Canada incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of spinach. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Canada’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for spinach-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.

Spinach Exporting Companies

According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following firms are examples of spinach-trading exporters including suppliers of fresh spinach, frozen chopped spinach and even organic spinach powder in the case of NutriBoost.

• Qingdao Yokid Foods Co. (China)
• American Top Foods, LLC (United States)
• NutriBoost (Netherlands)
• OXL Resources Sdn. BHD (Malaysia)
• UK Frozen Food Ltd (United Kingdom)

The home-country location for each of the above businesses is shown within parentheses.
 

See also Top Lettuce Exports by Country, Tomatoes Exports by Country, Potatoes Exports by Country and Corn Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for spinach. Accessed on October 10, 2022

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 10, 2022

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 10, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 10, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 10, 2022

Wikipedia, Spinach. Accessed on October 10, 2022