Key Food Exporting & Importing Nations

Amount of the Global Food Production that is Exported

The proportion of the annual food production that is exported varies greatly from country to country. Globally only a small proportion is traded and as shown in the table below. For most food items the global amount of production that is exported is less than 16%. The exceptions are Soybeans (45 %), Wheat (25 %) and Rapeseed (30 %). The main global increases in exports between 2005 and 2024 have been modest except for Soybeans Wheat and Rapeseed.

Global Meat exports range between 10-16%, while Milk exports are small. Beef and Pork exports have increased the most, which likely reflects changes in meat based diets particularly in China and other emerging countries.

The food items that are exported the most are Cocoa Beans, Coffee, Quinoa, Cashew Nuts, Brazil Nuts and different Seeds ranging between 57-87% of production. Surprisingly, Kiwi and Cherries account for 38 % and 35% of all fruit exported while the Bananas (17%) and Oranges (10%) production that is exported is much lower.

Key Food Exporting Countries

While China and India are major food producing countries they do not export a lot of food. India is responsible for about 26% of the global rice export and China is the top exporter of Garlic (78%). Europe is also a substantial food producer but much of the exports stay within the European Union 28 countries

The key food exporting countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia, France, USA, Ukraine and Uruguay and Paraguay for selected food items. Concerns relating to climate variability, water availability, access to arable land, soil degradation etc. cause considerable concern for future exports.

Largest Net Food Exporting Countries in 2023

The countries that make the greatest contribution to the global food export are shown below. In 2023, the USA, Brazil, Argentina. Ukraine, France, Australia, Russia and Kazakhstan were the largest exporter of staple crops. Brazil and the USA are by far the largest Soybean and Maize exporters. Most of the same countries were also the largest meat exporters. New Zealand  is a primary exporter of Sheep, Beef and Milk., while Spain is a major exporter of Pork and Sheep. Next to New Zealand, European countries are some of the largest Milk exporters (Fresh & Powdered Milk).

Summary of 9 Food Exporting Countries

The 9 key exporting countries account for only 11.5% of the global population but export 47-96% of the global staple crop exports and 50-70% of the global meat exports in 2023.