The world’s leading exported product category was electrical machinery and equipment, overtaking mineral fuels including oil since 2022. The electrical machinery category accounted for 15% of overall worldwide sales for all products which totaled US$23.785 trillion for 2024.
The most valuable exported products under the electrical machinery and equipment classification are electronic integrated circuits including parts (29.5% of electronics-related items), phone devices including smartphones (16.3%), insulated wire or cable (4.8%), electrical transformers and static converters (4.4%) then electric accumulators including separators (4.2%).
Mineral fuels including oil generated 12.5% of the global exports total, ahead of the machinery including computers product category at 11.6%, then exported vehicles taking a 7.8% share.
Best-selling exported goods considered mineral fuels-related products are led by crude oil (35.9% of total revenues for mineral fuels-related items), refined petroleum oils (30.1%), petroleum gases (14.7%), coal (5.4%) and electrical energy (2%).
Drilling down on all export product categories, those attracting the fastest-growing sales year over year were cocoa (up 47.4% compared to 2023), miscellaneous base metals (up 18.7%), railway and streetcars (up 18.3%), coffee, tea and spices (up 15.9%), ships and boats (up 14.2%), explosives and pyrotechnics (up 12.6%), paper yarn and woven fabric (up 10.6%) then fruits and nuts (up 10.5%).
World’s Top Export Products
Below are the world’s top export product categories that generated the highest dollar values during 2024. Also shown is the change in value for each product group from 2023 to 2024.
| Rank | Product Category | Exports (US$) | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical machinery, equipment | $3,564,432,262,000 | +3.2% |
| 2 | Mineral fuels including oil | $2,977,268,581,000 | -10.9% |
| 3 | Machinery including computers | $2,760,895,004,000 | +7.1% |
| 4 | Vehicles | $1,845,526,244,000 | -2.7% |
| 5 | Gems, precious metals | $953,718,497,000 | +3.5% |
| 6 | Pharmaceuticals | $906,671,301,000 | +8.2% |
| 7 | Plastics, plastic articles | $750,458,626,000 | +2.9% |
| 8 | Optical, technical, medical apparatus | $695,983,084,000 | +2.9% |
| 9 | Organic chemicals | $488,057,143,000 | -1.7% |
| 10 | Iron, steel | $453,465,388,000 | -7.4% |
| 11 | Articles of iron or steel | $450,421,515,000 | -1.3% |
| 12 | Ores, slag, ash | $381,360,200,000 | +2% |
| 13 | Aircraft, spacecraft | $345,127,099,000 | +6.7% |
| 14 | Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings | $326,758,051,000 | +1.7% |
| 15 | Knit or crochet clothing, accessories | $307,687,620,000 | +3.2% |
| 16 | Other chemical goods | $277,110,622,000 | -4.2% |
| 17 | Aluminum | $273,664,315,000 | +3.8% |
| 18 | Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet) | $250,386,176,000 | +0.5% |
| 19 | Copper | $248,887,394,000 | +9.7% |
| 20 | Rubber, rubber articles | $229,634,189,000 | +4% |
| 21 | Paper, paper items | $225,917,402,000 | +0.8% |
| 22 | Perfumes, cosmetics | $190,412,338,000 | +4.1% |
| 23 | Inorganic chemicals | $189,947,730,000 | -10.7% |
| 24 | Meat | $177,196,838,000 | +5.3% |
| 25 | Footwear | $170,394,296,000 | +0.3% |
| 26 | Fruits, nuts | $168,223,944,000 | +10.5% |
| 27 | Ships, boats | $162,143,493,000 | +14.2% |
| 28 | Cereals | $156,057,614,000 | -8.4% |
| 29 | Wood | $153,772,307,000 | +1.1% |
| 30 | Beverages, spirits, vinegar | $152,333,203,000 | +0.3% |
| 31 | Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes | $150,997,333,000 | +1.1% |
| 32 | Toys, games | $150,181,043,000 | -5.8% |
| 33 | Fish | $149,405,644,000 | -0.1% |
| 34 | Oil seeds | $139,277,888,000 | -10.6% |
| 35 | Dairy, eggs, honey | $133,950,112,000 | +3.6% |
| 36 | Miscellaneous food preparations | $116,135,756,000 | +6.6% |
| 37 | Cereal/milk preparations | $112,908,495,000 | +4.6% |
| 38 | Food industry waste, animal fodder | $112,629,164,000 | -2.1% |
| 39 | Leather/animal gut articles | $108,202,823,000 | -2.9% |
| 40 | Vegetables | $100,340,809,000 | +4.5% |
| 41 | Cocoa | $100,046,343,000 | +47.1% |
| 42 | Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations | $91,087,628,000 | +6.1% |
| 43 | Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink | $90,821,516,000 | +4.3% |
| 44 | Glass | $90,401,531,000 | -2.2% |
| 45 | Other base metal goods | $89,848,575,000 | +3.1% |
| 46 | Fertilizers | $86,441,089,000 | -7.3% |
| 47 | Soaps, washing preparations, lubricants, waxes | $85,045,503,000 | +3.3% |
| 48 | Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing | $81,369,141,000 | +2.2% |
| 49 | Base metal tools, cutlery | $78,910,279,000 | +1% |
| 50 | Coffee, tea, spices | $75,408,330,000 | +15.9% |
| 51 | Sugar, sugar confectionery | $74,945,415,000 | +1.6% |
| 52 | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | $69,757,315,000 | +1.5% |
| 53 | Meat/seafood preparations | $66,526,041,000 | +4.3% |
| 54 | Ceramic products | $64,451,574,000 | -9% |
| 55 | Tobacco, manufactured substitutes | $61,340,340,000 | -1.9% |
| 56 | Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos | $61,129,836,000 | -3.1% |
| 57 | Clocks , watches including parts | $60,084,881,000 | -3.1% |
| 58 | Railways, streetcars | $59,469,696,000 | +18.3% |
| 59 | Salt, sulphur, stone, cement | $56,443,146,000 | -16.4% |
| 60 | Woodpulp | $56,199,554,000 | +7% |
| 61 | Manmade filaments | $55,009,341,000 | -0.4% |
| 62 | Cotton | $54,480,734,000 | -0.6% |
| 63 | Modified starches, glues, enzymes | $52,990,921,000 | +0.7% |
| 64 | Nickel | $41,750,302,000 | -4.4% |
| 65 | Knit or crochet fabric | $39,951,353,000 | +5.1% |
| 66 | Manmade staple fibers | $39,653,997,000 | +2.1% |
| 67 | Books, newspapers, pictures | $36,336,759,000 | -8.5% |
| 68 | Collector items, art, antiques | $34,254,628,000 | -14.6% |
| 69 | Felt, yarn, twine, ropes, cables | $30,933,320,000 | +1.7% |
| 70 | Live animals | $30,871,591,000 | +7.7% |
| 71 | Arms, ammunition | $29,420,303,000 | +16.2% |
| 72 | Coated/laminated textile fabric | $29,042,528,000 | +3.3% |
| 73 | Milling products, malt, starches | $28,550,861,000 | -5.2% |
| 74 | Live trees, plants, cut flowers | $27,675,080,000 | +4.7% |
| 75 | Other base metals | $27,096,717,000 | +18.7% |
| 76 | Zinc | $25,812,992,000 | -5.8% |
| 77 | Textile floor coverings | $18,033,927,000 | +2.8% |
| 78 | Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather | $17,832,161,000 | -1.6% |
| 79 | Photo/cinematographic goods | $15,971,636,000 | +9.3% |
| 80 | Headgear | $15,607,454,000 | +0.5% |
| 81 | Feathers, artificial flowers, hair | $14,555,636,000 | -1% |
| 82 | Special woven/tufted fabric, embroidery | $13,290,519,000 | +2.7% |
| 83 | Miscellaneous animal-origin products | $12,541,158,000 | -0.1% |
| 84 | Wool | $11,466,340,000 | -11% |
| 85 | Gums, resins, other vegetable saps | $10,059,387,000 | +0.3% |
| 86 | Lead | $9,611,729,000 | +4.2% |
| 87 | Musical instruments | $9,593,606,000 | -1.2% |
| 88 | Tin | $8,021,529,000 | +7.4% |
| 89 | Paper yarn, woven fabric | $7,219,545,000 | +10.6% |
| 90 | Explosives, pyrotechnics, matches | $7,116,061,000 | +12.6% |
| 91 | Umbrellas, walking-sticks | $6,771,899,000 | +2.2% |
| 92 | Furskins, artificial fur | $4,331,229,000 | -15.5% |
| 93 | Plaiting products, basketware.wickerwork | $3,473,093,000 | -6.2% |
| 94 | Cork , articles of cork | $2,811,780,000 | -11% |
| 95 | Vegetable plaiting materials | $2,040,848,000 | -1.4% |
| 96 | Silk | $1,818,403,000 | -6.2% |
In total, the top 20 product groups accounted for over three-quarters (76.8%) of global exports in 2024. The 20 top export product categories increased by an average 35% in 2024 compared to 5 years earlier in 2020, an increase just below the 36% benchmark gain over 5 years for all export product categories.
From 2023 to 2024, the average sales for the top 20 product groups slowed to a 1.6% upturn which exceeds the benchmark 0.6% year-over-year expansion for all categories.
Widening our scope to the latest 5-year period, the greatest percentage sales increases were recorded by arms and ammunition including parts (up 88.1% from 2020), mineral fuels-related products including oil (up 86.9%), cocoa and cocoa preparations (up 82.5%), miscellaneous base metals (up 79.2%), explosives and pyrotechnics (up 74.3%), tin both as materials and items made from tin (up 69.3%), nickel both as materials and items made from nickel (up 68.6%), railway and streetcars (up 62%), then sugar including sugar confectionery (up 61.4%) product categories.
There was a trio of product categories that declined since 2020: furskins and artificial fur (down -38.5%), miscellaneous textile items such as worn clothing and rags (down -35.8%), then straw manufactures including basketware and wickerwork (down -0.1%).
See also Electronic Circuit Component Exports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country, Car Exports by Country Plus Average Prices Per Car and Cellphone Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Field Listing: Exports, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on October 20, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 20, 2025