Year over year, the world’s soap exports depreciated by -3.6% compared to $14.5 billion for 2020.
The top 5 biggest soap exporters are Germany, United States of America, mainland China, Indonesia, and Japan. Collectively, that cohort of major soap suppliers collected 35.3% of all revenues for worldwide soap exported during 2021.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe generated the greatest revenue stream from exported soap during 2021 with shipments valued at $6.1 billion or 43.8% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Asia at 36.9% while another 12.1% of international soap shipments originated from North America.
Smaller percentages came from soap suppliers in Latin America (2.97%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.96%), then Oceania (1.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 3401 for soap. That code prefix includes bar and liquid soaps, as well as organic surface-active products and preparations.
Soap Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of soap during 2021.
- Germany: US$1.4 billion (10.2% of total soap exports)
- United States: $1 billion (7.3%)
- China: $964 million (6.9%)
- Indonesia: $799.1 million (5.7%)
- Japan: $733.6 million (5.2%)
- Poland: $726.1 million (5.2%)
- France: $636.8 million (4.5%)
- Italy: $603.3 million (4.3%)
- Malaysia: $559.3 million (4%)
- Netherlands: $541.9 million (3.9%)
- United Kingdom: $533.4 million (3.8%)
- Turkey: $422.1 million (3%)
- Canada: $377.3 million (2.7%)
- Thailand: $324.7 million (2.3%)
- South Korea: $318.7 million (2.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 71.3% of globally exported soap in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of soap since 2020 were: Indonesia (up 17%), France (up 13.6%), Japan (up 12%) and South Korea (up 11.5%).
Those countries that posted declines in their international sales of soap were led by: mainland China (down -30.2%), Turkey (down -19.7%), Canada (down -9.5%), Thailand (down -5%) and Poland (down -1.3%).
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Soap
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for soap 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 soap and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Germany: US$729.9 million (net export surplus up 5.8% since 2020)
- Indonesia: $727.2 million (up 19.6%)
- Japan: $414.4 million (up 45.5%)
- Poland: $413 million (down -2.2%)
- Malaysia: $412.3 million (down -1.8%)
- Italy: $338.7 million (up 14.5%)
- Turkey: $313.9 million (down -25.8%)
- Thailand: $224 million (down -11.9%)
- South Korea: $160.3 million (down -1.2%)
- Mexico: $133.4 million (down -11.6%)
- Israel: $98.7 million (down -42.5%)
- Brazil: $97.7 million (up 18.5%)
- Netherlands: $95.2 million (down -26.4%)
- Kenya: $84.3 million (up 33.9%)
- France: $59.6 million (reversing a -$26.7 million deficit)
Germany generates the highest surplus in the international trade of soap. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Germany’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Posting Largest Trade Deficits from Soap
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for soap 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 soap purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- China: -US$964.5 million (net export deficit, reversing a $655.3 million surplus in 2020)
- United States: -$398.2 million (down -55.7% from 2020)
- Canada: -$188.8 million (down -14.5%)
- Taiwan: -$158.1 million (up 12.4%)
- Macao: -$155.3 million (up 55.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$150.2 million (down -23.4%)
- Philippines: -$145.8 million (down -9.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$138.3 million (reversing a $119.4 million surplus)
- Australia: -$131.7 million (down -43.8%)
- Russia: -$128.8 million (up 23.9%)
- India: -$115.8 million (up 1184.7%)
- Romania: -$111.3 million (down -1.4%)
- Iraq: -$105.4 million (down -17.9%)
- Norway: -$101.2 million (down -11.7%)
- Ireland: -$99.4 million (up 5.6%)
Mainland China and the United States of America incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of soap during 2021. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for soap-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful worldwide demand.
Soap Exporting Companies
Below are global soap manufacturers that represent established players engaged in the international soap trade. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- Ach Brito & Ca. (Portugal)
- Caswell-Massey (United States)
- Colgate-Palmolive (United States)
- Deb Limited (United Kingdom)
- Defense Soap (United States)
- Doetsch Grether AG (Switzerland)
- Further Products (United States)
- Henkel (Germany)
- L’Amande (Italy)
- Nivea (Germany)
- Orkla Group (Norway)
- Proraso (Italy)
- PZ Cussons (United Kingdom)
- Sebapharma GmbH & Co (Germany)
- Unilever (Netherlands & United Kingdom)
Searchable List of Soap Exporting Countries in 2021
The 100 key exporters in the automated database below generated 99.9% of the total value of soap shipped via international markets in 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Soap Exports | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $1,424,894,000 | +3.4% |
| 2. | United States | $1,019,586,000 | +1.4% |
| 3. | China | $963,983,000 | -30.2% |
| 4. | Indonesia | $799,074,000 | +17% |
| 5. | Japan | $733,585,000 | +12% |
| 6. | Poland | $726,102,000 | -1.3% |
| 7. | France | $636,782,000 | +13.6% |
| 8. | Italy | $603,267,000 | +2.9% |
| 9. | Malaysia | $559,292,000 | -0.8% |
| 10. | Netherlands | $541,889,000 | +1.4% |
| 11. | United Kingdom | $533,405,000 | -0.9% |
| 12. | Turkey | $422,083,000 | -19.7% |
| 13. | Canada | $377,253,000 | -9.5% |
| 14. | Thailand | $324,673,000 | -5% |
| 15. | South Korea | $318,674,000 | +11.5% |
| 16. | Mexico | $293,462,000 | +2% |
| 17. | Singapore | $281,954,000 | +32.6% |
| 18. | Spain | $276,434,000 | +2.7% |
| 19. | Belgium | $260,424,000 | +3.6% |
| 20. | Czech Republic | $190,835,000 | +12.7% |
| 21. | Australia | $148,989,000 | +14.6% |
| 22. | Russia | $144,673,000 | +3.5% |
| 23. | South Africa | $143,098,000 | -2% |
| 24. | United Arab Emirates | $142,345,000 | -65.3% |
| 25. | Israel | $139,920,000 | -33.4% |
| 26. | India | $135,600,000 | -9% |
| 27. | Brazil | $115,063,000 | +10% |
| 28. | Sweden | $113,225,000 | +8.9% |
| 29. | Guatemala | $104,525,000 | +18.9% |
| 30. | Vietnam | $98,796,000 | -4.7% |
| 31. | Kenya | $97,361,000 | +27.2% |
| 32. | Denmark | $88,343,000 | +8.9% |
| 33. | Greece | $81,208,000 | +29.9% |
| 34. | Switzerland | $79,304,000 | -0.3% |
| 35. | Austria | $69,418,000 | +5.8% |
| 36. | Saudi Arabia | $62,600,000 | -14% |
| 37. | Hungary | $56,832,000 | -8.2% |
| 38. | Colombia | $55,966,000 | +3.5% |
| 39. | Egypt | $48,320,000 | +81.2% |
| 40. | Honduras | $41,180,000 | -57.7% |
| 41. | Slovakia | $38,334,000 | +11.2% |
| 42. | Slovenia | $38,195,000 | +10.8% |
| 43. | Portugal | $36,271,000 | +5.5% |
| 44. | Ivory Coast | $35,146,000 | -64.2% |
| 45. | Romania | $33,930,000 | +17% |
| 46. | Philippines | $30,817,000 | +39.2% |
| 47. | Iran | $25,509,000 | +57.2% |
| 48. | New Zealand | $24,052,000 | -1.6% |
| 49. | Bahrain | $23,823,000 | -69.6% |
| 50. | Hong Kong | $22,673,000 | +19.7% |
| 51. | Panama | $21,621,000 | +5% |
| 52. | Tanzania | $21,262,000 | +19.6% |
| 53. | Jordan | $21,039,000 | +12.1% |
| 54. | Bulgaria | $20,178,000 | -46.7% |
| 55. | Dominican Republic | $19,955,000 | +29.9% |
| 56. | Argentina | $19,657,000 | -17.3% |
| 57. | Ukraine | $19,250,000 | -8.1% |
| 58. | Pakistan | $18,443,000 | -18.7% |
| 59. | Serbia | $18,443,000 | +3.6% |
| 60. | Croatia | $17,827,000 | +18.1% |
| 61. | Taiwan | $17,589,000 | +9.8% |
| 62. | Zambia | $17,224,000 | +69.9% |
| 63. | Morocco | $16,501,000 | +9.2% |
| 64. | Lithuania | $15,705,000 | -11% |
| 65. | Belarus | $13,221,000 | +2% |
| 66. | Latvia | $12,008,000 | -10.2% |
| 67. | Luxembourg | $9,959,000 | +15.6% |
| 68. | Ireland | $9,011,000 | -11.4% |
| 69. | Lebanon | $8,105,000 | -27.7% |
| 70. | Kazakhstan | $7,633,000 | +13.3% |
| 71. | Estonia | $7,284,000 | -14.2% |
| 72. | Peru | $6,784,000 | -34% |
| 73. | Norway | $5,762,000 | -31.4% |
| 74. | Paraguay | $5,669,000 | +7.4% |
| 75. | Cameroon | $5,489,000 | -28.6% |
| 76. | Costa Rica | $5,440,000 | -39.2% |
| 77. | Syria | $5,381,000 | -11.2% |
| 78. | Uganda | $5,101,000 | -69.4% |
| 79. | Ghana | $5,101,000 | +1.3% |
| 80. | El Salvador | $4,590,000 | +17.8% |
| 81. | Chile | $4,211,000 | -22.4% |
| 82. | Nigeria | $4,129,000 | -5.9% |
| 83. | Ecuador | $4,034,000 | -29% |
| 84. | Finland | $3,835,000 | -16.6% |
| 85. | Macao | $3,365,000 | +127.4% |
| 86. | Tunisia | $3,019,000 | -17.3% |
| 87. | Mauritius | $2,833,000 | -29.4% |
| 88. | Senegal | $2,434,000 | -56.1% |
| 89. | Cyprus | $1,818,000 | -23.5% |
| 90. | Mozambique | $1,783,000 | +896.1% |
| 91. | Uzbekistan | $1,692,000 | -37% |
| 92. | Benin | $1,536,000 | +110.1% |
| 93. | Fiji | $1,470,000 | -23.9% |
| 94. | Nicaragua | $1,455,000 | +3.7% |
| 95. | Aruba | $1,401,000 | +33.9% |
| 96. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,378,000 | -26.5% |
| 97. | Dominica | $1,222,000 | -21.9% |
| 98. | North Macedonia | $1,191,000 | -26.6% |
| 99. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $1,002,000 | -23% |
| 100. | Togo | $1,001,000 | -22.2% |
Perusing the top 100 most valuable sellers of soap on international markets, the fastest growers are Mozambique (up 896.1% from 2020), Macao (up 127.4%), Benin (up 110.1%), Egypt (up 81.2%), Zambia (up 69.9%), Iran (up 57.2%) then the Philippines (up 39.2%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means 2021 data was unavailable.
See also Perfumes Exporters by Country, Beauty Cosmetics and Skincare Exports by sCountry, Top Human Hair Exporters by Country and Top Sunglasses Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 3, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 3, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 3, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 3, 2022
Wikipedia, Category:Soap brands. Accessed on August 3, 2022