Which large markets depend on imports, and which produce far more than they use?
Derived report snapshot · 2026-10-04 · Original report
Of 355 country-and-commodity markets that are each at least 2% of world domestic supply (2023 food balance sheets), 79 get half or more of their supply from imports; the largest is China's soybeans, 121 million tonnes of supply with 84% imported. 47 produce at least one and a half times what they use, which makes them net suppliers to the rest of the world.
Definitions are FAO's. Self-sufficiency is production divided by (production + imports − exports); import dependency is imports divided by the same total, both as percentages. A country can be both a big importer and a big exporter of one item (re-exports, different grades), so a high import dependency does not mean it cannot feed itself, only that much of what it uses crosses a border. Only markets of at least 2% of world supply are shown, so a small economy that imports everything does not crowd the list. Where FAO shows no production or exports for a country that has domestic supply, they are read as zero. Click a heading to sort.
Large markets that rely on imports
| Country | Commodity | Domestic supply | Share of world supply | Import dependency | Self-sufficiency | Food kg per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Soybeans | 121 million tonnes | 32% | 84% | 16% | 5.4 |
| China | Cassava | 39.5 million tonnes | 12% | 87% | 13% | 2.2 |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Wheat | 33.4 million tonnes | 4% | 69% | 59% | 164 |
| Germany | Wheat | 20.4 million tonnes | 2.4% | 56% | 106% | 75 |
| Thailand | Cassava | 17.7 million tonnes | 5.2% | 60% | 173% | 3.3 |
| United States | Apples | 17.2 million tonnes | 16% | 77% | 30% | 49 |
| United States | Oranges | 12.7 million tonnes | 10% | 84% | 25% | 36 |
| Germany | Canola | 10.3 million tonnes | 11% | 62% | 39% | 0.0 |
| China | Barley | 10.2 million tonnes | 7.5% | 89% | 16% | 1.6 |
| India | Palm oil | 9.2 million tonnes | 12% | 100% | <0.1% | 1.3 |
| China | Sorghum | 8.1 million tonnes | 17% | 64% | 36% | 3.2 |
| Spain | Barley | 8.1 million tonnes | 6% | 52% | 53% | 5.2 |
| Indonesia | Sugar | 7.5 million tonnes | 4.4% | 72% | 32% | 26 |
| United States | Pineapples | 6.3 million tonnes | 18% | 102% | 2.7% | 18 |
| China | Palm oil | 5.0 million tonnes | 6.6% | 99% | 2% | 1.9 |
| Germany | Tomatoes | 4.1 million tonnes | 2.1% | 103% | 2.5% | 47 |
| United States | Bananas | 4.1 million tonnes | 3.1% | 114% | 0.1% | 11 |
| Pakistan | Palm oil | 3.0 million tonnes | 4% | 100% | <0.1% | 8.7 |
| United States | Oats | 3.0 million tonnes | 14% | 75% | 28% | 6.2 |
| India | Sunflower oil | 2.8 million tonnes | 13% | 98% | 2.3% | 1.8 |
| Pakistan | Canola | 1.9 million tonnes | 2.1% | 58% | 42% | 0.0 |
| China | Sunflower oil | 1.8 million tonnes | 8.5% | 83% | 18% | 0.4 |
| United States | Palm oil | 1.7 million tonnes | 2.3% | 107% | <0.1% | 0.0 |
| Bangladesh | Palm oil | 1.6 million tonnes | 2.2% | 100% | <0.1% | 3.5 |
| United States | Coffee | 1.4 million tonnes | 12% | 146% | 0.2% | 4.2 |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Sunflower oil | 1.4 million tonnes | 6.4% | 113% | 62% | 5.9 |
| China | Sesame seed | 1.3 million tonnes | 27% | 69% | 34% | 0.4 |
| Spain | Sunflower oil | 901 thousand tonnes | 4.2% | 80% | 47% | 11 |
| Germany | Oats | 839 thousand tonnes | 4.1% | 72% | 61% | 5.2 |
| United States | Cocoa | 839 thousand tonnes | 16% | 132% | <0.1% | 2.4 |
| Iran | Sunflower oil | 799 thousand tonnes | 3.7% | 95% | 5.2% | 7.3 |
| Italy | Sunflower oil | 770 thousand tonnes | 3.6% | 87% | 19% | 6.3 |
| China | Palm kernel oil | 737 thousand tonnes | 8.6% | 98% | 2.3% | 0.1 |
| Spain | Pineapples | 708 thousand tonnes | 2.1% | 123% | <0.1% | 14 |
| Italy | Olive oil | 535 thousand tonnes | 17% | 90% | 77% | 8.6 |
| Indonesia | Cocoa | 525 thousand tonnes | 9.8% | 60% | 103% | 1.7 |
| Iraq | Sunflower oil | 497 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 94% | 6% | 6.5 |
| Spain | Olive oil | 493 thousand tonnes | 16% | 61% | 201% | 9.0 |
| Philippines | Coffee | 493 thousand tonnes | 4.1% | 95% | 6.1% | 4.3 |
| India | Dates | 487 thousand tonnes | 5.1% | 101% | <0.1% | 0.3 |
| France | Sunflower oil | 460 thousand tonnes | 2.1% | 59% | 135% | 4.9 |
| Germany | Coffee | 449 thousand tonnes | 3.7% | 291% | <0.1% | 5.3 |
| United States | Coconut oil | 431 thousand tonnes | 15% | 105% | <0.1% | 0.2 |
| United States | Olive oil | 370 thousand tonnes | 12% | 101% | 4.5% | 1.1 |
| Italy | Coffee | 365 thousand tonnes | 3% | 215% | <0.1% | 6.1 |
| Hong Kong | Coffee | 359 thousand tonnes | 3% | 110% | <0.1% | 43 |
| France | Coffee | 346 thousand tonnes | 2.9% | 144% | <0.1% | 5.2 |
| United Kingdom | Coffee | 345 thousand tonnes | 2.9% | 177% | <0.1% | 5.0 |
| United States | Palm kernel oil | 311 thousand tonnes | 3.6% | 106% | <0.1% | 0.0 |
| China | Coffee | 308 thousand tonnes | 2.5% | 79% | 35% | 0.2 |
| Brazil | Palm kernel oil | 297 thousand tonnes | 3.5% | 74% | 27% | 0.0 |
| Germany | Palm kernel oil | 282 thousand tonnes | 3.3% | 111% | <0.1% | — |
| United Kingdom | Cocoa | 270 thousand tonnes | 5.1% | 134% | <0.1% | 3.9 |
| Canada | Coffee | 269 thousand tonnes | 2.2% | 134% | <0.1% | 6.8 |
| France | Cocoa | 268 thousand tonnes | 5% | 222% | <0.1% | 4.0 |
| United States | Honey | 253 thousand tonnes | 14% | 79% | 25% | 0.7 |
| Morocco | Dates | 237 thousand tonnes | 2.5% | 56% | 45% | 3.9 |
| Netherlands | Coconut oil | 195 thousand tonnes | 6.8% | 201% | <0.1% | — |
| Germany | Coconut oil | 189 thousand tonnes | 6.6% | 114% | <0.1% | — |
| China | Coconut oil | 182 thousand tonnes | 6.4% | 100% | <0.1% | 0.1 |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Sesame seed | 177 thousand tonnes | 3.6% | 120% | 7.5% | 0.7 |
| China | Cocoa | 175 thousand tonnes | 3.3% | 134% | <0.1% | 0.1 |
| Malaysia | Coconut oil | 162 thousand tonnes | 5.7% | 172% | 37% | 1.9 |
| Russia | Cocoa | 162 thousand tonnes | 3% | 154% | <0.1% | 1.1 |
| Spain | Cocoa | 149 thousand tonnes | 2.8% | 264% | <0.1% | 3.1 |
| India | Cocoa | 123 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 90% | 19% | 0.1 |
| Sri Lanka | Coconut oil | 106 thousand tonnes | 3.7% | 81% | 37% | 1.9 |
| France | Olive oil | 105 thousand tonnes | 3.4% | 109% | 3.8% | 1.6 |
| Portugal | Olive oil | 82 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 126% | 200% | 5.9 |
| Germany | Honey | 81 thousand tonnes | 4.4% | 80% | 43% | 0.9 |
| Brazil | Olive oil | 80 thousand tonnes | 2.6% | 100% | <0.1% | 0.4 |
| Italy | Coconut oil | 67 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 135% | <0.1% | — |
| United Kingdom | Olive oil | 65 thousand tonnes | 2.1% | 103% | <0.1% | 0.9 |
| Germany | Olive oil | 62 thousand tonnes | 2% | 110% | <0.1% | 0.7 |
| Spain | Coconut oil | 62 thousand tonnes | 2.2% | 147% | <0.1% | — |
| United States | Pepper | 58 thousand tonnes | 7.7% | 115% | <0.1% | 0.2 |
| United Kingdom | Honey | 53 thousand tonnes | 2.9% | 86% | 17% | 0.8 |
| France | Honey | 45 thousand tonnes | 2.4% | 69% | 40% | 0.7 |
| India | Cloves | 21 thousand tonnes | 11% | 110% | <0.1% | 0.0 |
Large markets that produce far more than they use
| Country | Commodity | Domestic supply | Share of world supply | Self-sufficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | Coconut oil | 138 thousand tonnes | 4.8% | 980% |
| Australia | Oats | 482 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 623% |
| Canada | Oats | 1.8 million tonnes | 8.5% | 603% |
| Syria | Olive oil | 99 thousand tonnes | 3.2% | 561% |
| Tunisia | Olive oil | 70 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 438% |
| Vietnam | Coffee | 499 thousand tonnes | 4.1% | 391% |
| Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) | Cocoa | 352 thousand tonnes | 6.6% | 363% |
| Brazil | Coffee | 1.2 million tonnes | 10% | 336% |
| Brazil | Sugar | 7.3 million tonnes | 4.3% | 327% |
| Australia | Barley | 3.8 million tonnes | 2.8% | 314% |
| Malaysia | Palm oil | 5.6 million tonnes | 7.4% | 309% |
| Brazil | Soybeans | 59.2 million tonnes | 16% | 302% |
| France | Barley | 3.6 million tonnes | 2.6% | 297% |
| Philippines | Pineapples | 1.3 million tonnes | 3.7% | 286% |
| Greece | Olive oil | 104 thousand tonnes | 3.4% | 285% |
| Thailand | Sugar | 5.1 million tonnes | 3% | 274% |
| Brazil | Pepper | 28 thousand tonnes | 3.7% | 270% |
| Vietnam | Pepper | 103 thousand tonnes | 14% | 240% |
| Tanzania | Sesame seed | 131 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 236% |
| Tanzania | Cloves | 4 thousand tonnes | 2.1% | 225% |
| Indonesia | Palm oil | 20.3 million tonnes | 27% | 225% |
| Brazil | Oranges | 7.9 million tonnes | 6.3% | 223% |
| United States | Sorghum | 3.6 million tonnes | 7.4% | 218% |
| Argentina | Sunflower oil | 801 thousand tonnes | 3.7% | 213% |
| Brazil | Sesame seed | 130 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 205% |
| Spain | Olive oil | 493 thousand tonnes | 16% | 201% |
| Portugal | Olive oil | 82 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 200% |
| Spain | Pork | 2.5 million tonnes | 2.1% | 192% |
| Russia | Sunflower oil | 3.8 million tonnes | 18% | 180% |
| United States | Soybeans | 67.8 million tonnes | 18% | 174% |
| Thailand | Cassava | 17.7 million tonnes | 5.2% | 173% |
| Ethiopia | Coffee | 324 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 173% |
| Brazil | Corn | 71.1 million tonnes | 5.9% | 171% |
| Iraq | Dates | 374 thousand tonnes | 3.9% | 171% |
| Ukraine | Barley | 3.3 million tonnes | 2.4% | 166% |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Olive oil | 150 thousand tonnes | 4.9% | 166% |
| Thailand | Rice | 24.8 million tonnes | 3.2% | 160% |
| Canada | Canola | 11.3 million tonnes | 12% | 160% |
| Russia | Wheat | 49.4 million tonnes | 5.9% | 153% |
| Philippines | Bananas | 3.8 million tonnes | 2.9% | 153% |
| Indonesia | Pepper | 41 thousand tonnes | 5.4% | 152% |
| Finland | Oats | 561 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 152% |
| France | Wheat | 18.8 million tonnes | 2.2% | 152% |
| Canada | Barley | 4.1 million tonnes | 3% | 152% |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | Grapes | 2.2 million tonnes | 3.1% | 151% |
| Thailand | Palm kernel oil | 200 thousand tonnes | 2.3% | 150% |
| Tunisia | Dates | 257 thousand tonnes | 2.7% | 150% |
For which countries supply a given importer, see import dependency and trade flows (customs data, which can differ from FAO's balances in coverage and year). For who consumes the most, see consumption.
FAOSTAT Food Balance Sheets (2010-), CC BY 4.0. Each commodity uses its latest FBS year with domestic supply for at least 100 countries (2023 at the time of writing). Self-sufficiency and import dependency are left out for a market whose production plus imports minus exports is not positive.
Source snapshot and downloads
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.
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Snapshot retrieved 2026-10-05. New source vintages require review and republication.
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