From a continental perspective, suppliers located in European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported pasta during 2019 with shipments valued at $5.3 billion or 52.8% of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 39.2% while 4.8% of international pasta shipments originated from North America. Smaller percentages came from Africa (1.5%), Latin America (1.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for pasta is 1902.
World Pasta Day is celebrated each October 25.
Top Pasta Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of pasta during 2019.
- Italy: US$3 billion (29.9% of total pasta exports)
- China: $929.9 million (9.2%)
- South Korea: $612.1 million (6.1%)
- Turkey: $607.1 million (6%)
- Thailand: $547.4 million (5.4%)
- United States: $349.7 million (3.5%)
- Belgium: $320.2 million (3.2%)
- Germany: $284.9 million (2.8%)
- Netherlands: $267.4 million (2.7%)
- Austria: $229.9 million (2.3%)
- Vietnam: $226.4 million (2.3%)
- France: $217.9 million (2.2%)
- Indonesia: $197 million (2%)
- Spain: $166.1 million (1.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: $163.8 million (1.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 80.8% of global pasta exported in 2019.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing pasta exporters since 2015 were: South Korea (up 85.1%), Netherlands (up 76.3%), Austria (up 62.5%) and Saudi Arabia (up 45.7%).
Two top suppliers posted declines in their exported pasta sales: United States (down -10.3%) and France (down -0.2%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for pasta during 2019. 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 pasta and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Italy: US$2.9 billion (net export surplus up 13.5% since 2015)
- China: $647.4 million (down -6.3%)
- Turkey: $599.1 million (up 46.5%)
- Thailand: $502.6 million (up 34.3%)
- South Korea: $441.4 million (up 127.3%)
- Vietnam: $181.2 million (up 12.7%)
- Indonesia: $155.9 million (down -10.4%)
- Belgium: $70.4 million (down -13%)
- Austria: $67.2 million (up 861.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $64.7 million (up 194.9%)
- Hungary: $52 million (up 161.5%)
- Taiwan: $49.9 million (up 33.2%)
- Morocco: $28.5 million (up 57.3%)
- Peru: $26.9 million (down -26.3%)
- Greece: $25.4 million (down -14.4%)
Italy generated the highest surplus in the international trade of pasta. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Italy’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for pasta during 2019. 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 pasta purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$667.4 million (net export deficit up 26.2% since 2015)
- United Kingdom: -$576.4 million (up 11.7%)
- Germany: -$506.5 million (down -1.8%)
- France: -$491.7 million (up 24.5%)
- Canada: -$299.6 million (up 24.4%)
- Australia: -$230 million (up 37.5%)
- Hong Kong: -$207.6 million (up 1%)
- Japan: -$184.1 million (down -12.2%)
- Sweden: -$114.4 million (up 29.9%)
- Netherlands: -$105 million (up 17%)
- Iraq: -$85.9 million (up 20.3%)
- Switzerland: -$76.8 million (up 24.3%)
- Portugal: -$76.7 million (up 114.4%)
- Venezuela: -$76.1 million (up 1,204%)
- Denmark: -$74.9 million (up 39.9%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of pasta. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for pasta-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Pasta Exporting Companies
Below are global pasta-processing businesses that represent established players engaged in the international trade of pasta. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.
- A. Zerega’s Sons, Inc (United States)
- Barilla Group (Italy)
- Buitoni (Italy)
- Colavita (Italy)
- Dakota Growers Pasta Company (United States)
- De Cecco (Italy)
- Divella (Italy)
- Ebro Foods (Spain)
- La Molisana (Italy)
- New World Pasta Company (United States)
- San Remo Macaroni Co (Australia)
- V. La Rosa and Sons Macaroni Co. (United States)
Searchable List of Pasta Exporting Countries in 2019
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2018 data was unavailable.
| Rank | Exporter | Pasta Exports (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Italy | $3,008,125,000 | +3.3% |
| 2. | China | $929,865,000 | +0.7% |
| 3. | South Korea | $612,139,000 | +10.1% |
| 4. | Turkey | $607,103,000 | +9.9% |
| 5. | Thailand | $547,352,000 | +9% |
| 6. | United States | $349,730,000 | +2.1% |
| 7. | Belgium | $320,229,000 | -5.9% |
| 8. | Germany | $284,859,000 | -2.5% |
| 9. | Netherlands | $267,363,000 | +12.2% |
| 10. | Austria | $229,855,000 | +14.3% |
| 11. | Vietnam | $226,446,000 | -5.3% |
| 12. | France | $217,937,000 | -3% |
| 13. | Indonesia | $197,024,000 | -23.8% |
| 14. | Spain | $166,058,000 | +15.6% |
| 15. | Saudi Arabia | $163,812,000 | +27.3% |
| 16. | Japan | $148,873,000 | +5.4% |
| 17. | Canada | $120,534,000 | -9.7% |
| 18. | Poland | $113,350,000 | +18.3% |
| 19. | Taiwan | $103,596,000 | -1.8% |
| 20. | Russia | $101,502,000 | +10.8% |
| 21. | Hong Kong | $100,725,000 | +4.6% |
| 22. | United Kingdom | $82,449,000 | -10.1% |
| 23. | Malaysia | $81,376,000 | -2.6% |
| 24. | Hungary | $81,177,000 | -8.7% |
| 25. | Switzerland | $72,560,000 | -1.8% |
| 26. | Singapore | $61,812,000 | +8.5% |
| 27. | Greece | $53,190,000 | +6.1% |
| 28. | Morocco | $42,099,000 | +8.5% |
| 29. | Lithuania | $41,706,000 | +28% |
| 30. | Czech Republic | $41,566,000 | +8.2% |
| 31. | Ukraine | $39,800,000 | +3.8% |
| 32. | Peru | $33,491,000 | +3.6% |
| 33. | Philippines | $32,273,000 | -18.1% |
| 34. | Ireland | $30,894,000 | +51.4% |
| 35. | Latvia | $30,390,000 | +14.6% |
| 36. | Kazakhstan | $29,073,000 | +61.8% |
| 37. | Sweden | $27,834,000 | +18.9% |
| 38. | Guatemala | $26,247,000 | +1.5% |
| 39. | India | $25,116,000 | -1.7% |
| 40. | South Africa | $23,813,000 | +7.8% |
| 41. | Egypt | $20,871,000 | -67.1% |
| 42. | Costa Rica | $19,957,000 | +10.5% |
| 43. | United Arab Emirates | $19,327,000 | -64% |
| 44. | Australia | $19,184,000 | -42.4% |
| 45. | Argentina | $17,637,000 | +3.4% |
| 46. | Portugal | $17,350,000 | -5.9% |
| 47. | New Zealand | $15,915,000 | +8.8% |
| 48. | Denmark | $15,899,000 | -1% |
| 49. | Slovenia | $14,510,000 | +18.1% |
| 50. | Serbia | $13,778,000 | +73.1% |
| 51. | Nigeria | $13,367,000 | -47.4% |
| 52. | Mexico | $12,863,000 | -75.8% |
| 53. | Chile | $11,703,000 | +12.2% |
| 54. | Namibia | $10,960,000 | -5.5% |
| 55. | Romania | $9,823,000 | +6.6% |
| 56. | Nepal | $9,509,000 | +23% |
| 57. | Croatia | $9,458,000 | +108.7% |
| 58. | Brazil | $9,283,000 | -9.5% |
| 59. | Kuwait | $8,280,000 | -47.1% |
| 60. | Mauritius | $7,705,000 | -56.1% |
| 61. | Ivory Coast | $7,327,000 | -74% |
| 62. | Bangladesh | $7,122,000 | +12.3% |
| 63. | Cambodia | $6,341,000 | +42.1% |
| 64. | Tunisia | $6,217,000 | -57.2% |
| 65. | Israel | $5,748,000 | -13.2% |
| 66. | Bolivia | $5,628,000 | +7.4% |
| 67. | Slovakia | $5,404,000 | +25.8% |
| 68. | Ghana | $4,855,000 | +28,459% |
| 69. | Pakistan | $4,031,000 | -58.9% |
| 70. | Mozambique | $3,665,000 | +39.8% |
| 71. | Uruguay | $3,651,000 | -2.9% |
| 72. | Ecuador | $3,573,000 | +74.1% |
| 73. | Estonia | $3,521,000 | -28.1% |
| 74. | Luxembourg | $3,301,000 | -80.2% |
| 75. | Senegal | $2,953,000 | -30.3% |
| 76. | Kyrgyzstan | $2,896,000 | +54.8% |
| 77. | Guyana | $2,734,000 | -29.4% |
| 78. | Jordan | $2,463,000 | -33.4% |
| 79. | Myanmar | $2,350,000 | +313% |
| 80. | Togo | $2,142,000 | +39.8% |
| 81. | Algeria | $1,912,000 | -76.9% |
| 82. | Finland | $1,769,000 | +46.3% |
| 83. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,557,000 | -21.5% |
| 84. | Bulgaria | $1,264,000 | +63.3% |
| 85. | Colombia | $1,250,000 | +58.4% |
| 86. | Belarus | $1,169,000 | -34.8% |
| 87. | Lebanon | $996,000 | -93.1% |
| 88. | Norway | $868,000 | +36.5% |
| 89. | Haiti | $710,000 | +4.1% |
| 90. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $666,000 | -28.5% |
| 91. | Sri Lanka | $656,000 | -64.7% |
| 92. | Iran | $604,000 | -99.1% |
| 93. | Benin | $599,000 | +122.7% |
| 94. | El Salvador | $555,000 | +60.4% |
| 95. | Oman | $542,000 | -98.8% |
| 96. | Botswana | $537,000 | -56% |
| 97. | Dominican Republic | $485,000 | -94.2% |
| 98. | Azerbaijan | $459,000 | +36.6% |
| 99. | Fiji | $426,000 | -92.7% |
| 100. | Jamaica | $382,000 | -57.2% |
| 101. | Albania | $362,000 | +68.4% |
| 102. | Cyprus | $245,000 | +38.4% |
| 103. | Mauritania | $244,000 | +803.7% |
| 104. | Paraguay | $239,000 | +117.3% |
| 105. | North Macedonia | $215,000 | +4.9% |
| 106. | Palestine | $203,000 | -67.1% |
| 107. | Bahrain | $174,000 | -56.1% |
| 108. | Honduras | $161,000 | +87.2% |
| 109. | Bhutan | $126,000 | 0% |
| 110. | Malta | $110,000 | +816.7% |
| 111. | Zambia | $93,000 | -70.1% |
| 112. | Panama | $74,000 | +111.4% |
| 113. | Armenia | $67,000 | -21.2% |
| 114. | Tokelau | $65,000 | +195.5% |
| 115. | Suriname | $58,000 | +7.4% |
| 116. | Venezuela | $56,000 | +1,767% |
| 117. | Georgia | $49,000 | +716.7% |
| 118. | Cameroon | $47,000 | -88.3% |
| 119. | Iraq | $46,000 | -52.1% |
| 120. | Syria | $44,000 | -73.3% |
| 121. | Mali | $36,000 | -60% |
| 122. | Brunei Darussalam | $33,000 | -69.7% |
| 123. | Congo | $32,000 | 0% |
| 124. | Turks/Caicos Islands | $32,000 | -78.9% |
| 125. | Moldova | $29,000 | +190% |
| 126. | Saint Lucia | $22,000 | -42.1% |
| 127. | Guinea | $19,000 | -68.9% |
| 128. | Eswatini | $17,000 | +466.7% |
| 129. | Mongolia | $14,000 | -53.3% |
| 130. | Bermuda | $12,000 | -42.9% |
| 131. | Andorra | $9,000 | 0% |
| 132. | Uzbekistan | $9,000 | -95.3% |
| 133. | Curaçao | $8,000 | -55.6% |
| 134. | Kenya | $8,000 | -99.4% |
| 135. | Laos | $8,000 | -52.9% |
| 136. | Nicaragua | $7,000 | 0% |
| 137. | Gambia | $7,000 | +600% |
| 138. | Turkmenistan | $7,000 | -41.7% |
| 139. | Angola | $6,000 | -99.1% |
| 140. | Macao | $6,000 | 0% |
| 141. | Barbados | $5,000 | 0% |
| 142. | Lesotho | $4,000 | -84% |
| 143. | Tanzania | $4,000 | +300% |
| 144. | Madagascar | $3,000 | +50% |
| 145. | Afghanistan | $3,000 | 0% |
| 146. | North Korea | $2,000 | -99.1% |
| 147. | Niger | $2,000 | -100% |
| 148. | Zimbabwe | $2,000 | 0% |
| 149. | Uganda | $1,000 | -99.9% |
See also Cheese Exports by Country, Wine Importing Countries and International Markets for Imported Tomatoes by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 18, 2020
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 18, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 18, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 18, 2020
Wikipedia, Category:Pasta companies. Accessed on May 18, 2020
