Worldwide garlic exports from all countries totaled US$2.68 billion in 2022. That dollar value results from a 25.6% increase from $2.13 billion five-years earlier in 2018.

Year over year, globally exported garlic declined by -14.8% compared to $3.14 billion during 2021.

Remarkable for its sharp and pungent taste resembling horse radish or minced onions combined with chives, garlic is a popular seasoning ingredient. Raw or cooked garlic cloves are also used for medicinal purposes in many cultures.

The world’s 5 biggest exporters of garlic are mainland China, Spain, Argentina, Netherlands and France. Collectively, those 5 major suppliers earned 90.9% of revenues earned for garlic sold on international markets during 2022. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated cohort of garlic suppliers.

From a continental perspective, countries in Asia sold over two-thirds (68.7%) of the world’s garlic exports during 2022 with shipments valued at $1.84 billion. In second place were European exporters at 21.1% while another 6.8% of global garlic shipments originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Smaller percentages came from sellers in North America (2.2%), Africa (1.2%), then Oceania’s New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and Fiji (0.02%).

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for garlic is 070320.

Top Garlic Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of garlic during 2022.

1. China: US$1.8 billion (67% of total garlic exports)
2. Spain: $388.3 million (14.5%)
3. Argentina: $131.8 million (4.9%)
4. Netherlands: $82.6 million (3.1%)
5. France: $37.4 million (1.4%)
6. Mexico: $36.2 million (1.4%)
7. Egypt: $29.6 million (1.1%)
8. Italy: $29 million (1.1%)
9. Chile: $26.4 million (1%)
10. Peru: $23.2 million (0.9%)
11. United States: $20.9 million (0.8%)
12. Malaysia: $11.8 million (0.4%)
13. India: $8.8 million (0.3%)
14. Slovenia: $4 million (0.2%)
15. Uzbekistan: $3.7 million (0.1%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.2% of global garlic exports in 2022.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing garlic exporters since 2021 were: India (up 175.2%), Slovenia (up 120.9%), Malaysia (up 39.8%) and Mexico (up 27.9%).

Major suppliers that posted declines in their exported garlic sales were led by: Chile (down -36.4% from 2021), Netherlands (down -25.6%), Italy (down -25%), Spain (down -19.9%) and France (down -16.8%).

Countries Winning Best Trade Surpluses from Garlic

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

1. China: US$1.8 billion (net export surplus down -11.7% since 2021)
2. Spain: $377.5 million (down -19.2%)
3. Argentina: $131.1 million (down -10.6%)
4. Netherlands: $27.4 million (down -45.4%)
5. Egypt: $24.4 million (up 92.9%)
6. Peru: $23.2 million (up 18.6%)
7. Chile: $19 million (down -44%)
8. Mexico: $18.5 million (reversing a -$6.9 million deficit)
9. India: $7.3 million (up 266.1%)
10. Türkiye: $2.9 million (reversing a -$375,000 deficit)
11. Uzbekistan: $2.8 million (up 15.2%)
12. Iran: $2.6 million (down -83.9%)
13. Afghanistan: $1.3 million (reversing a -$911,000 deficit)
14. Syria: $951,000 (down -66.8%)
15. Madagascar: $605,000 (up 6.9%)

Mainland China generated the highest surplus in the international trade of garlic. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.

Countries Posting Largest Trade Deficits from Garlic

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

1. Indonesia: -US$597.8 million (net export deficit down -10.2% since 2021)
2. United States: -$260.5 million (up 9.3%)
3. Vietnam: -$232 million (up 217%)
4. Brazil: -$143.2 million (down -13.5%)
5. Malaysia: -$134.5 million (down -5.9%)
6. Germany: -$87 million (down -18.8%)
7. United Arab Emirates: -$74.7 million (up 217.1%)
8. United Kingdom: -$70.5 million (up 44.4%)
9. Pakistan: -$59.8 million (down -10.8%)
10. Russia: -$59.1 million (down -18.7%)
11. Canada: -$59.1 million (up 6.6%)
12. Japan: -$52.4 million (down -3.4%)
13. Italy: -$45.7 million (down -4.7%)
14. France: -$39.7 million (down -14.4%)
15. Saudi Arabia: -$37.8 million (down -34.1%)

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

Garlic Exporting Companies

According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are examples of garlic-trading exporters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.

• Algo Imports & Exports (United States)
• Amazon Andes Export SAC (Peru)
• Colned Export SL (Spain)
• Dexta Import & Export (Netherlands)
• Green Point for Import and Export (Egypt)
• Jai Commercial Centre (India)
• Jining Optimum Fruits & Vegetables Co (China)
• Le Vinotier (France)

 

See also Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Top Ginger Exporters, Onions Exports by Country and Top Sweet Pepper and Chili Pepper Exporters

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for garlic. Accessed on September 23, 2023

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 23, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 23, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 23, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 23, 2023

Wikimedia Commons organic garlic image by Jennifer Dickert, Garlic, [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]. Accessed on September 23, 2023

Wikipedia, Garlic. Accessed on September 23, 2023