Globally, lettuce exports by country totaled US$3.33 billion in 2021. That dollar amount reflects an average 23.7% gain for all lettuce shippers over a five-year period starting from $2.69 billion in 2017.

From 2020 to 2021, worldwide sales of exported lettuce increased via a 13% advance from $2.95 billion.

The 5 most lucrative suppliers of lettuce on international markets are Spain, United States of America, Mexico, Netherlands, and Italy. Combined, that quintet of leading exporters generated over three-quarters (77.1%) of globally exported lettuce during 2021.

Among continents, suppliers in European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported lettuce during 2021 with shipments valued at $1.96 billion or approaching three-fifths (58.7%) of the worldwide total. In second place were North American exporters at 30.8% with another 8.9% of international lettuce shipments originating from Asia.

Smaller percentages came from Africa (1.21%), Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania’s (0.2%) Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 0705 for fresh or chilled lettuce.

Top Lettuce Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of lettuce during 2021.

1. Spain: US$1.1 billion (31.6% of total lettuce exports)
2. United States: $564.4 million (16.9%)
3. Mexico: $407.1 million (12.2%)
4. Netherlands: $303.6 million (9.1%)
5. Italy: $241.3 million (7.2%)
6. China: $207.3 million (6.2%)
7. Belgium: $93.7 million (2.8%)
8. Germany: $73.6 million (2.2%)
9. France: $67 million (2%)
10. Canada: $56 million (1.7%)
11. Iran: $29.5 million (0.9%)
12. Poland: $25 million (0.8%)
13. Sweden: $22.7 million (0.7%)
14. Egypt: $20 million (0.6%)
15. Malaysia: $17.6 million (0.5%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.5% of globally exported lettuce in 2021.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing lettuce exporters since 2020 were: Germany (up 29.8%), Egypt (up 26.3%), Poland (up 25.2%) and Spain (up 21.7%).

A trio of major suppliers posted declines in their exported lettuce sales namely Malaysia (down -12.2%), Belgium (down -0.5%) and mainland China (also down -0.5%).

Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Lettuce

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

1. Spain: US$1 billion (net export surplus up 21.6% since 2020)
2. Mexico: $362.4 million (up 20.6%)
3. China: $207.3 million (down -0.5%)
4. Netherlands: $188.2 million (up 20%)
5. Italy: $114.4 million (down -2.4%)
6. United States: $80.6 million (down -29.9%)
7. Iran: $29.5 million (up 7.3%)
8. Egypt: $20 million (up 26.3%)
9. Belgium: $15 million (down -18.6%)
10. Malaysia: $13.1 million (down -18%)
11. Jordan: $11.8 million (up 70.8%)
12. Ethiopia: $8.9 million (up 55.4%)
13. Guatemala: $7 million (up 14.1%)
14. Australia: $6.6 million (down -1.7%)
15. Turkey: $3.7 million (up 262%)

Spain generated the highest surplus in the international trade of lettuce. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Spanish competitive advantages for this specific product category.

Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Lettuce

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

1. Germany: -US$416.5 million (net export deficit up 7.2% since 2020)
2. Canada: -$397.7 million (up 3.4%)
3. United Kingdom: -$188.1 million (down -0.8%)
4. France: -$73.3 million (up 0.6%)
5. Switzerland: -$71.2 million (up 20%)
6. Poland: -$56.7 million (up 9%)
7. Austria: -$55.2 million (up 12.5%)
8. Saudi Arabia: -$52.1 million (up 11%)
9. Denmark: -$39.6 million (up 28%)
10. Finland: -$36.3 million (up 16%)
11. Sweden: -$34.9 million (up 10%)
12. Czech Republic: -$30 million (up 20.8%)
13. Singapore: -$28.6 million (up 8.3%)
14. Hong Kong: -$26.6 million (up 28.7%)
15. Norway: -$26.4 million (up 22.6%)

Germany and Canada incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of lettuce. In turn, those negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for supplier countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand for lettuce particularly in those two nations.

Lettuce Exporting Companies

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

• AA Group, S. Coop (Spain)
• Algo Imports & Exports (United States)
• Bhuvani Exports (India)
• Javema Holdings Pty Ltd (South Africa)
• Partners for Import Export Trading Agencies & General Supplies (Egypt)
• PC Suppliers Company Ltd (Thailand)
• Tunisia Trade Partners (Tunisia)
• Yunnan Chuntian Agricultural Products (China)

 

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

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for lettuce. Accessed on September 3, 2022

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 3, 2022

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 3, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 3, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 3, 2022

Wikipedia, Lettuce. Accessed on September 3, 2022