The biggest producer is often not the biggest exporter
Derived report snapshot · 2026-10-04 · Original report
For 48 of the 90 commodities with production data, the country that produces the most is not the country that exports the most by value. For 13 of them the biggest producer is not even among the top 15 exporters of the traded form.
There are four ordinary reasons. Some producers use what they make at home. Some sell a different form (a country can lead in mined ore and another in refined metal). Some exporters buy raw material and process it before selling on, so their exports contain other countries' output. And exports are ranked by value while production is ranked by weight, so a country selling high-value grades can lead one list and not the other. The explainer on producing, exporting and processing walks through an example.
| Commodity | Largest producer | Share of output | Largest exporter | Share of exports | Producer's export rank | Traded form compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yams | Nigeria | 71% | Ghana | 25% | outside top 15 | yams (HS 071430) |
| Nickel | Indonesia | 67% | Norway | 15% | 6 | unwrought nickel (HS 7502) |
| Chickpeas | India | 65% | Australia | 24% | 4 | chickpeas (HS 071320) |
| Aluminum | China | 61% | Canada | 10% | outside top 15 | unwrought aluminum (HS 7601) |
| Palm kernel oil | Indonesia | 59% | Malaysia | 29% | 5 | crude palm kernel oil (HS 151321) |
| Silk | India | 56% | China | 48% | 9 | silk (HS 5002) |
| Coal | China | 52% | Australia | 34% | 11 | coal (HS 2701) |
| Tea | China | 50% | Kenya | 18% | 3 | tea (HS 0902) |
| Ginger | India | 48% | China | 56% | 5 | ginger (HS 091011) |
| Pork | China | 46% | United States | 18% | outside top 15 | pork (HS 0203) |
| Mangoes | India | 45% | Thailand | 18% | 7 | mangoes (HS 080450) |
| Phosphate rock | China | 44% | Morocco | 29% | 15 | phosphate rock (HS 2510) |
| Lead | China | 42% | India | 10% | outside top 15 | unwrought lead (HS 7801) |
| Sisal | Brazil | 40% | India | 39% | 4 | sisal (HS 5305) |
| Coconut oil | Philippines | 39% | Indonesia | 34% | 2 | coconut and palm kernel oil (HS 1513) |
| Cinnamon | China | 38% | Vietnam | 28% | 4 | cinnamon (HS 0906) |
| Tobacco | China | 37% | Brazil | 20% | 7 | unmanufactured tobacco (HS 2401) |
| Molybdenum | China | 37% | Chile | 24% | 6 | molybdenum ore (HS 2613) |
| Eggs | China | 35% | Netherlands | 17% | 6 | eggs (HS 0407) |
| Peanuts | China | 34% | Argentina | 20% | 4 | raw groundnuts (HS 1202) |
| Tomatoes | China | 33% | Mexico | 29% | 10 | tomatoes (HS 0702) |
| Lithium | Australia | 32% | Chile | 73% | outside top 15 | lithium carbonate (HS 283691) |
| Zinc | China | 32% | Spain | 9.8% | outside top 15 | unwrought zinc (HS 7901) |
| Sunflower oil | Russia | 31% | Ukraine | 28% | 2 | sunflower and safflower oil (HS 1512) |
| Shrimp | China | 31% | Ecuador | 20% | 9 | crustaceans (HS 0306) |
| Pepper | Vietnam | 28% | India | 24% | 2 | pepper (HS 0904) |
| Cheese | United States | 28% | Germany | 15% | 5 | cheese (HS 0406) |
| Bananas | India | 27% | Ecuador | 27% | 9 | bananas and plantains (HS 0803) |
| Plantains | Uganda | 27% | Ecuador | 23% | outside top 15 | plantains (HS 080310) |
| Tin | China | 24% | Indonesia | 26% | 5 | unwrought tin (HS 8001) |
| Potatoes | China | 24% | France | 21% | 8 | potatoes (HS 0701) |
| Silver | Mexico | 24% | China | 16% | 3 | silver (HS 7106) |
| Honey | China | 24% | New Zealand | 11% | 2 | honey (HS 0409) |
| Oranges | Brazil | 23% | Spain | 22% | outside top 15 | fresh oranges (HS 080510) |
| Lamb | China | 23% | Australia | 42% | outside top 15 | sheep and goat meat (HS 0204) |
| Cotton | China | 23% | Brazil | 30% | outside top 15 | raw cotton lint (HS 5201) |
| Grapes | China | 22% | Peru | 14% | 3 | grapes (HS 0806) |
| Wool | China | 21% | Australia | 62% | 7 | greasy and scoured wool (HS 5101) |
| Crude oil | United States | 21% | Saudi Arabia | 14% | 3 | crude oil (HS 2709) |
| Cassava | Nigeria | 18% | Cambodia | 20% | outside top 15 | cassava (HS 0714) |
| Beef | United States | 18% | Brazil | 27% | 3 | frozen beef (HS 0202) |
| Wheat | China | 18% | Russia | 16% | outside top 15 | wheat grain (HS 1001) |
| Milk | India | 17% | New Zealand | 28% | outside top 15 | milk powders (HS 0402) |
| Sawnwood | United States | 17% | Canada | 17% | 4 | sawnwood (HS 4407) |
| Logs | United States | 16% | New Zealand | 14% | 2 | wood in the rough (HS 4403) |
| Chicken | United States | 16% | Brazil | 26% | 2 | poultry meat (HS 0207) |
| Barley | Russia | 12% | Australia | 19% | 3 | barley (HS 1003) |
| Gold | China | 12% | Switzerland | 18% | 11 | gold (HS 7108) |
Production: FAOSTAT, USGS, Energy Institute, FAO FishStat, latest year. Exports: CEPII BACI (built from UN Comtrade), export value in US dollars for the primary HS line shown, latest year. The two are different measures, so read a mismatch as a prompt to look at the commodity page, not as a data error.
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Recreated from Commodity Origins' published derived reports under CC BY 4.0. Report figures retain the publisher's definitions, coverage and reporting years. Selection of underlying commodity rows in our commodity explorer is separate and may have different coverage. Source notes above identify the upstream data; no publisher endorsement is implied.
Snapshot retrieved 2026-10-05. New source vintages require review and republication.