Which countries export the most food?
The United States is the world’s largest food exporter, followed by Brazil and the Netherlands. These were the 20 largest food exporters in 2022 by value, using World Trade Organization (WTO) data as charted by World Charts above [1]. The values are approximate, read from the chart’s bars:
| Rank | Country | Food exports, 2022 (approx. US$ billion) | Share of GDP (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 185 | 0.7% |
| 2 | Brazil | 132 | 6.8% |
| 3 | Netherlands | 113 | 11.2% |
| 4 | Germany | 92 | 2.3% |
| 5 | France | 84 | 3.0% |
| 6 | China | 82 | 0.4% |
| 7 | Canada | 71 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Spain | 70 | 4.9% |
| 9 | Italy | 61 | 3.0% |
| 10 | Indonesia | 59 | 4.5% |
| 11 | Belgium | 55 | 9.5% |
| 12 | Argentina | 53 | 8.4% |
| 13 | India | 50 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Poland | 48 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Mexico | 47 | 3.2% |
| 16 | Australia | 45 | 2.7% |
| 17 | Thailand | 40 | 8.2% |
| 18 | Malaysia | 37 | 9.1% |
| 19 | Russia | 36 | 1.6% |
| 20 | United Kingdom | 31 | 1.0% |
Together the top three exported roughly $430 billion of food in 2022, our arithmetic from the bars. Seven of the 20 are European Union members: the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Poland.
The latest food export rankings
The WTO publishes the underlying figures through its statistics portal [2]. A report of the WTO’s ranking for 2024 again puts the United States first, with agricultural exports of $181.3 billion, more than 12% of global agri-food trade. Brazil was second with $144.4 billion and China third with $74.8 billion, with Canada and Mexico completing the top five on more than $100 billion combined [3]. That report uses a broader “agricultural products” grouping and does not list EU members such as the Netherlands, Germany and France in its top five, so it is not directly comparable with the 2022 chart.
The main exports differ a lot by country. The US sells mostly soybeans, corn and meat, with China and Mexico its main buyers. Brazil is a leading supplier of coffee and meat, China of vegetables and seafood, Canada of rapeseed, wheat and other grains, and Mexico of beer, tequila and avocados [3].
Why the Netherlands is such a big food exporter
The Netherlands is one of the most surprising names near the top. It is a small, densely populated country, yet it is the second largest exporter of food and agricultural products in the world by value, behind only the United States, helped by fertile soil, a mild climate, very intensive farming and innovation [4]. Agriculture employs only about 4% of the Dutch workforce but produces large surpluses for the food processing industry [4].
Relative to the size of its economy, no other big exporter comes close: Dutch food exports were worth about 11% of GDP in 2022, the highest share among the 20 countries on the chart [1].
Which countries depend most on food exports?
Total value favours big economies. Measuring food exports against the size of each economy tells a different story [1]:
- Most dependent: the Netherlands (about 11% of GDP), Belgium (9.5%), Malaysia (9.1%), Argentina (8.4%) and Thailand (8.2%).
- Least dependent: China (0.4%), the United States (0.7%) and the United Kingdom (1.0%). Their totals are large, but their economies are so big and varied that food is a small part of them.
For the countries with the highest shares, a bad harvest or a fall in world food prices matters far more to the whole economy than it does in the US or China.
Food exports and global hunger
Record trade does not mean everyone is fed. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that around 318 million people worldwide face acute hunger, with the worst situations in Sudan, South Sudan and Palestine, driven by conflict, climate stress and economic instability [3]. Food is traded mostly where there is money to pay for it, so export volumes and food security do not move together.
Questions about food exporters
What country exports the most food?
The United States. It exported about $185 billion of food in 2022, and the WTO ranking for 2024 puts it first again, with $181.3 billion of agricultural exports [1][3].
Who is the second largest food exporter in the world?
Brazil was second on both the 2022 chart (about $132 billion) and the 2024 ranking ($144.4 billion) [1][3]. The Netherlands is often described as the second largest exporter of agricultural products by value, depending on how products and re-exports are counted [4].
Which country depends most on food exports?
Of the 20 largest exporters, the Netherlands, where food exports were about 11% of GDP in 2022, followed by Belgium, Malaysia, Argentina and Thailand, each above 8% [1].
How much food does China export?
About $82 billion in 2022, sixth in the world, but only about 0.4% of its GDP [1]. In the 2024 ranking China was third with $74.8 billion of agricultural exports [3].
Where does the UK rank as a food exporter?
Twentieth in 2022, with about $31 billion of food exports, roughly 1% of GDP [1].
Sources
- u/oscarleo0 (World Charts), [OC] Top Food Exporters in 2022, r/dataisbeautiful, 15 August 2024, the original chart (data from the WTO).
- World Trade Organization, WTO Stats, data portal.
- UkrAgroConsult, United States, Brazil and China lead global food export rankings, 17 June 2026, reporting WTO and FAO figures.
- Wikipedia, Netherlands, sections on geography and agriculture.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
