From 2019 to 2020, the value of exported natural sands fell -13.5%.
The top 5 exporters (United States, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Malaysia) were responsible for 59.4% of the total value of natural sand shipped on international markets during 2020.
Finer than gravel but coarser than silt, sand is material comprised of finely granulated rock and mineral particles. Sand is also defined as a textural class of soil that contains more than 85% sand-sized particles by mass.
Sand has a high variety of uses. Sandy soils are ideal for agricultural crops such as watermelons, peaches and peanuts. Sand is also added to clay in the manufacture of bricks, while silica from sand is a key component of glass. Mixing sand with cement and lime is often used in masonry construction, and sand can be mixed with paint to create a textured finish for walls, ceilings and non-slip floor surfaces.
Among continents, Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported sands during 2020 with shipments valued at $713.1 million or 47% of the global total. In second place were North American exporters generating 26.8% worth while 15.7% of worldwide sand shipments originated from Asia.
Smaller percentages came from Africa (5.8%), Oceania (4%) led by Australia, then Latin America (0.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2505 for natural sands of all kinds except gold- and platinum-bearing sands.
Top Sand Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of sand during 2020.
- United States: US$363.7 million (24% of total sand exports)
- Netherlands: $201.9 million (13.3%)
- Germany: $145.9 million (9.6%)
- Belgium: $118.7 million (7.8%)
- Malaysia: $71.3 million (4.7%)
- Australia: $58.9 million (3.9%)
- France: $55.4 million (3.6%)
- Taiwan: $37.2 million (2.5%)
- Mozambique: $34.5 million (2.3%)
- Egypt: $33.4 million (2.2%)
- China: $33 million (2.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $32.5 million (2.1%)
- Vietnam: $31.6 million (2.1%)
- Canada: $27.4 million (1.8%)
- Portugal: $23.3 million (1.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 83.6% of global sand exported in 2020.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing sand exporters from 2019 to 2020 were: China (up 281.6%), Malaysia (up 120.6%), Vietnam (up 79.2%) and Mozambique (up 35.9%).
Five countries posted declines in their annual sand exports: Australia (down -39.9%), United States (down -21.1%), Saudi Arabia (down -15.8%), Canada (down -3.5%) and Germany (down -1.4%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sand during 2020. 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 sand and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- United States: US$302.6 million (net export surplus down -23.7% since 2019)
- Netherlands: $74.4 million (up 16.6%)
- Germany: $57.9 million (up 3.2%)
- Australia: $56.6 million (down -41.1%)
- Malaysia: $51.8 million (up 283.4%)
- Mozambique: $34 million (up 36.9%)
- Egypt: $32 million (up 14.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: $27.7 million (down -20.2%)
- Vietnam: $25.6 million (up 133.4%)
- Tunisia: $16.4 million (up 96.2%)
- Bulgaria: $14.1 million (up 0.9%)
- Portugal: $13.5 million (down -7.5%)
- Denmark: $13.1 million (up 34.4%)
- France: $8.8 million (reversing a -$1.7 million deficit)
- Poland: $5.9 million (down -20.6%)
The United States of America earned the highest surplus in the international trade of sand. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for sand during 2020. 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 sand purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$160.6 million (net export deficit up 1% since 2019)
- Canada: -$153 million (down -26.9%)
- Singapore: -$104.6 million (up 193.7%)
- Japan: -$63.3 million (down -25.7%)
- Hong Kong: -$50.4 million (down -35.7%)
- Italy: -$50.3 million (down -17.4%)
- South Korea: -$45.5 million (down -18.2%)
- Switzerland: -$43.2 million (down -7.3%)
- Taiwan: -$32.3 million (down -10.9%)
- Turkey: -$31.4 million (down -19.4%)
- Mexico: -$25.9 million (down -60.5%)
- Philippines: -$21.7 million (up 43.3%)
- Luxembourg: -$21.4 million (down -17.9%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$20.4 million (down -74.6%)
- Belgium: -$19.9 million (up 60.2%)
Overtaking Canada in 2020, China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of sand. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for sand-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand notably from China and Canada.
Companies
Sand Exporting Companies
Below are sand stock companies located in the United States that represent established players engaged in the international trade of sand. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- Emerge Energy
- Fairmount Santrol
- Hi-Crush
- US Silica
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are also examples of sand-trading exporters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- BMS Factories (Saudi Arabia)
- Cairo Fresh for Import/Export (Egypt)
- Franzavian Import/Export (Philippines)
- Lingshou County Zhongrun Minerals (China)
- Noebel Ventures LLC (United States)
- Ploma Enterprise Co (Taiwan)
- Qaim Rasoul Import/Expor Co (Cambodia)
- UNELO (France)
- VietGo Company (Vietnam)
- Wamenya Trading (Netherlands)
Searchable List of Sand Exporting Countries in 2020
Below is an automated listing of the 100 key suppliers of sand on international markets. Collectively, they represent 99.9% of the value of exported sand in 2020.
| Rank | Exporter | Sand Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $363,727,000 | -21.1% |
| 2. | Netherlands | $201,945,000 | +0.2% |
| 3. | Germany | $145,931,000 | -1.4% |
| 4. | Belgium | $118,687,000 | +1.4% |
| 5. | Malaysia | $71,331,000 | +120.6% |
| 6. | Australia | $58,894,000 | -39.9% |
| 7. | France | $55,387,000 | +3% |
| 8. | Taiwan | $37,184,000 | +1.7% |
| 9. | Mozambique | $34,487,000 | +35.9% |
| 10. | Egypt | $33,395,000 | +14.7% |
| 11. | China | $32,987,000 | +281.6% |
| 12. | Saudi Arabia | $32,513,000 | -15.8% |
| 13. | Vietnam | $31,607,000 | +79.2% |
| 14. | Canada | $27,432,000 | -3.5% |
| 15. | Portugal | $23,309,000 | +1.3% |
| 16. | Spain | $18,736,000 | +0.5% |
| 17. | Poland | $17,163,000 | +6.9% |
| 18. | Tunisia | $16,817,000 | +67.3% |
| 19. | United Kingdom | $16,122,000 | -30.9% |
| 20. | Mexico | $15,804,000 | +8.4% |
| 21. | Denmark | $15,754,000 | +20.6% |
| 22. | Bulgaria | $15,195,000 | +0.7% |
| 23. | Czech Republic | $12,984,000 | -3.7% |
| 24. | Italy | $10,321,000 | -24.3% |
| 25. | Sweden | $8,252,000 | -13.4% |
| 26. | Austria | $7,545,000 | -13.3% |
| 27. | Turkey | $7,116,000 | -2.9% |
| 28. | Hungary | $6,417,000 | +8% |
| 29. | Norway | $6,367,000 | -38.6% |
| 30. | Finland | $5,326,000 | +396.4% |
| 31. | Pakistan | $5,238,000 | -27.1% |
| 32. | Russia | $4,478,000 | -5.6% |
| 33. | Ukraine | $4,149,000 | -23.8% |
| 34. | Myanmar | $3,873,000 | +190.3% |
| 35. | Slovakia | $3,759,000 | -3.2% |
| 36. | Serbia | $3,527,000 | -12% |
| 37. | Japan | $2,986,000 | +22.1% |
| 38. | Guyana | $2,413,000 | +24.4% |
| 39. | Ireland | $2,180,000 | +20.3% |
| 40. | Kazakhstan | $1,984,000 | -16.7% |
| 41. | Slovenia | $1,923,000 | -7.5% |
| 42. | Colombia | $1,909,000 | +46.2% |
| 43. | Laos | $1,707,000 | +56,800% |
| 44. | Philippines | $1,530,000 | -80.5% |
| 45. | Israel | $1,513,000 | -37.2% |
| 46. | Romania | $1,426,000 | -52.4% |
| 47. | South Korea | $1,393,000 | -9.6% |
| 48. | South Africa | $1,375,000 | -43.8% |
| 49. | Lithuania | $1,344,000 | +24.4% |
| 50. | Guatemala | $1,322,000 | +18.4% |
| 51. | India | $1,250,000 | +131.5% |
| 52. | Switzerland | $1,137,000 | +1.6% |
| 53. | New Zealand | $1,011,000 | -23.1% |
| 54. | Brazil | $994,000 | -43.2% |
| 55. | Hong Kong | $982,000 | -92.2% |
| 56. | Dominica | $903,000 | +74.7% |
| 57. | Cambodia | $883,000 | -70.2% |
| 58. | Luxembourg | $880,000 | +141.1% |
| 59. | Bahamas | $831,000 | -13.5% |
| 60. | Morocco | $618,000 | -30.6% |
| 61. | Thailand | $610,000 | -31.3% |
| 62. | Montserrat | $596,000 | -71.1% |
| 63. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $596,000 | +16.6% |
| 64. | Belarus | $497,000 | -56.1% |
| 65. | Singapore | $495,000 | +22.5% |
| 66. | Greece | $486,000 | +83.4% |
| 67. | Peru | $472,000 | -57.2% |
| 68. | Costa Rica | $453,000 | -27.9% |
| 69. | Argentina | $428,000 | -17.4% |
| 70. | Curaçao | $398,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Iran | $398,000 | +98% |
| 72. | Georgia | $372,000 | +13.8% |
| 73. | Latvia | $371,000 | +18.5% |
| 74. | Chile | $369,000 | -6.1% |
| 75. | Trinidad/Tobago | $348,000 | +1,482% |
| 76. | United Arab Emirates | $321,000 | -96.8% |
| 77. | Nigeria | $311,000 | -74% |
| 78. | Croatia | $280,000 | -68.9% |
| 79. | Gambia | $213,000 | -45% |
| 80. | Andorra | $192,000 | -8.1% |
| 81. | Faroe Islands | $181,000 | +7.7% |
| 82. | Kenya | $131,000 | -10.9% |
| 83. | North Macedonia | $129,000 | +26.5% |
| 84. | Estonia | $97,000 | +70.2% |
| 85. | Kyrgyzstan | $78,000 | -6% |
| 86. | Antigua/Barbuda | $64,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Uzbekistan | $58,000 | -99.9% |
| 88. | Namibia | $53,000 | -82.1% |
| 89. | Jordan | $48,000 | -99.7% |
| 90. | Suriname | $44,000 | 0% |
| 91. | French Polynesia | $43,000 | +760% |
| 92. | Fiji | $20,000 | -92.3% |
| 93. | Malta | $20,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Norfolk Island | $20,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Ghana | $18,000 | -91.5% |
| 96. | Panama | $17,000 | -86.2% |
| 97. | El Salvador | $15,000 | +650% |
| 98. | Gabon | $12,000 | -86% |
| 99. | Senegal | $12,000 | -29.4% |
| 100. | Palau | $10,000 | +42.9% |
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 2019 was not available.
See also Top Gravel Exporters by Country, Cement Exports by Country, Iron Ore Exports by Country and Top Nickel Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for Sand. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 15, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 15, 2021
Wikipedia, Sand. Accessed on June 15, 2021
