That dollar amount reflects an average 32.9% increase for all charcoal shippers from $1.25 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of globally exported charcoal flatlined via a 0.9% gain compared to $1.65 billion starting from 2022.
Light gray in color, charcoal results from the slow heating of wood or other combustible substances in an oxygen-less environment. This process contrasts with the millions of years involved for coal, a black natural mineral and fossil fuel formed under the earth’s crust under high temperature and intense pressure.
Other differences are that charcoal produces more heat and is a cleaner fuel than coal. In addition to generating energy and producing heat for cooking, black powder from charcoal is used in creating purification filters as well as producing fireworks.
The 5 biggest exporters of wood charcoal by sales are Indonesia, mainland China, Laos, Poland and Vietnam. Combined, that quintet of leading charcoal exporters collected almost half (49.3%) of revenues from globally exported wood charcoal in 2023.
Among continents, suppliers in Asia exported the highest dollar worth of charcoal during 2023 with shipments valued at $924.6 million or approaching three-fifths (55.7%) of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 24.9% while another 8.9% of worldwide charcoal shipments originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Africa (6.2%), North America (4.3%), and Oceania (0.04%) mostly Australia and Fiji.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 4402 for wood charcoal.
Top Charcoal Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of charcoal during 2023.
- Indonesia: US$389 million (23.4% of total charcoal exports)
- mainland China: $147.9 million (8.9%)
- Laos: $97.9 million (5.9%)
- Poland: $93.1 million (5.6%)
- Vietnam: $90.4 million (5.4%)
- Philippines: $74.5 million (4.5%)
- Ukraine: $74.5 million (4.5%)
- Cuba: $62 million (3.7%)
- Namibia: $55.8 million (3.4%)
- Paraguay: $53 million (3.2%)
- Mexico: $49.6 million (3%)
- Netherlands: $44 million (2.7%)
- India: $39 million (2.3%)
- Germany: $32.7 million (2%)
- Belgium: $32 million (1.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped about four-fifths (80.4%) of globally exported charcoal in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing charcoal exporters since 2022 were: Cuba (up 96.1%), Belgium (up 95.3%), Netherlands (up 49%) and Mexico (up 33.4%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported charcoal sales were led by: India (down -31.7% from 2022), mainland China (down -28.8%), Namibia (down -26.3%), Paraguay (down -13.1%) and Germany (down -9.4%).
Searchable List of Charcoal Exporting Countries in 2023
Accounting for 99.99% of globally exported charcoal in 2023, the 100 key suppliers of wood charcoal on international markets are highlighted in the following automated database.
| Rank | Exporter | Charcoal Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Indonesia | $388,975,000 | +8% |
| 2. | mainland China | $147,878,000 | -28.8% |
| 3. | Laos | $97,857,000 | -1% |
| 4. | Poland | $93,132,000 | +0.02% |
| 5. | Vietnam | $90,429,000 | +17.4% |
| 6. | Philippines | $74,501,000 | -8.5% |
| 7. | Ukraine | $74,463,000 | +4.4% |
| 8. | Cuba | $61,950,000 | +96.1% |
| 9. | Namibia | $55,848,000 | -26.3% |
| 10. | Paraguay | $52,989,000 | -13.1% |
| 11. | Mexico | $49,597,000 | +33.4% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $44,021,000 | +49% |
| 13. | India | $38,998,000 | -31.7% |
| 14. | Germany | $32,734,000 | -9.4% |
| 15. | Belgium | $32,033,000 | +95.3% |
| 16. | South Africa | $31,896,000 | +21.3% |
| 17. | Spain | $23,566,000 | -18.7% |
| 18. | Portugal | $22,151,000 | +12.7% |
| 19. | Malaysia | $20,310,000 | -3.9% |
| 20. | United States | $18,974,000 | +3.8% |
| 21. | France | $17,283,000 | +77.2% |
| 22. | United Arab Emirates | $16,996,000 | -2.3% |
| 23. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $12,624,000 | -7.9% |
| 24. | Egypt | $11,646,000 | +49% |
| 25. | Bangladesh | $10,484,000 | +129.1% |
| 26. | Argentina | $10,459,000 | +29.4% |
| 27. | Thailand | $10,434,000 | +2% |
| 28. | Türkiye | $9,547,000 | -34.8% |
| 29. | Venezuela | $7,866,000 | -37.7% |
| 30. | Norway | $7,346,000 | +771.4% |
| 31. | Croatia | $7,191,000 | +5.4% |
| 32. | Russia | $6,887,000 | -45.3% |
| 33. | Latvia | $6,717,000 | -10.8% |
| 34. | Sri Lanka | $5,683,000 | -24.7% |
| 35. | Slovakia | $5,419,000 | +502.1% |
| 36. | Colombia | $5,213,000 | +30.9% |
| 37. | Armenia | $5,045,000 | +2868% |
| 38. | Serbia | $3,925,000 | -10.2% |
| 39. | Denmark | $3,501,000 | -33.5% |
| 40. | Brazil | $3,448,000 | +27.4% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $3,289,000 | +22.8% |
| 42. | Canada | $3,245,000 | +22.7% |
| 43. | Italy | $2,689,000 | +18.3% |
| 44. | Bolivia | $2,150,000 | +45.8% |
| 45. | Greece | $2,064,000 | +42.7% |
| 46. | Hong Kong | $2,012,000 | +521% |
| 47. | Slovenia | $1,937,000 | +178.7% |
| 48. | Hungary | $1,782,000 | -5% |
| 49. | Sweden | $1,774,000 | +6.7% |
| 50. | Lithuania | $1,735,000 | +20.2% |
| 51. | Japan | $1,499,000 | -6.3% |
| 52. | Romania | $1,307,000 | -33.2% |
| 53. | Dominican Republic | $1,077,000 | +25.2% |
| 54. | El Salvador | $981,000 | +33.1% |
| 55. | Nicaragua | $842,000 | +38.3% |
| 56. | Switzerland | $822,000 | +323.7% |
| 57. | Ivory Coast | $769,000 | -27.6% |
| 58. | Tunisia | $749,000 | +5.3% |
| 59. | Bhutan | $698,000 | +60.8% |
| 60. | South Korea | $657,000 | +69.3% |
| 61. | Austria | $637,000 | -46.6% |
| 62. | Singapore | $606,000 | -52% |
| 63. | Iran | $535,000 | -74.7% |
| 64. | Australia | $490,000 | +1533% |
| 65. | South Sudan | $482,000 | +246.8% |
| 66. | Kazakhstan | $448,000 | +41.3% |
| 67. | Zimbabwe | $406,000 | +124.3% |
| 68. | Czech Republic | $374,000 | -48% |
| 69. | Taiwan | $373,000 | -12.9% |
| 70. | Ireland | $354,000 | +43.9% |
| 71. | Estonia | $344,000 | -42.2% |
| 72. | Angola | $306,000 | +10100% |
| 73. | Sudan | $286,000 | -88.4% |
| 74. | Guyana | $259,000 | +37% |
| 75. | Jordan | $231,000 | -64% |
| 76. | Ghana | $221,000 | +51.4% |
| 77. | Bulgaria | $164,000 | -82.2% |
| 78. | Fiji | $144,000 | +37.1% |
| 79. | Myanmar | $132,000 | +21.1% |
| 80. | Nigeria | $111,000 | +326.9% |
| 81. | Panama | $106,000 | -10.9% |
| 82. | Finland | $103,000 | -22% |
| 83. | North Macedonia | $100,000 | -43.8% |
| 84. | Luxembourg | $94,000 | -73.8% |
| 85. | Lebanon | $72,000 | -68% |
| 86. | Belarus | $53,000 | -98% |
| 87. | Moldova | $47,000 | +235.7% |
| 88. | Iraq | $40,000 | -73.2% |
| 89. | Eswatini | $38,000 | -11.6% |
| 90. | Tanzania | $36,000 | -60.9% |
| 91. | Bahrain | $34,000 | +240% |
| 92. | Benin | $31,000 | +933.3% |
| 93. | Azerbaijan | $28,000 | -67.1% |
| 94. | Curaçao | $28,000 | 0% |
| 95. | Guatemala | $21,000 | +2000% |
| 96. | Georgia | $20,000 | -87.3% |
| 97. | Oman | $18,000 | -97.3% |
| 98. | Saudi Arabia | $16,000 | -78.7% |
| 99. | Kenya | $14,000 | +55.6% |
| 100. | Algeria | $12,000 | 0% |
Focusing on the 100 major exporters, the fastest-growing sellers of charcoal on international markets are located in Angola (up 10,100% from 2022), Armenia (up 2,868%), Guatemala (up 2,000%), Australia (up 1,533%), Benin (up 933.3%) then Norway (up 771.4%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2022 data was unavailable.
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for charcoal during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported charcoal and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Indonesia: US$388.4 million (net export surplus up 8% since 2022)
- Laos: $97.9 million (down -0.9%)
- Vietnam: $88.1 million (up 25.5%)
- Philippines: $74.4 million (down -8.4%)
- Ukraine: $72.9 million (up 4.3%)
- Cuba: $61.9 million (up 95.9%)
- Namibia: $55.7 million (down -26.4%)
- Paraguay: $53 million (down -13%)
- Poland: $52.4 million (up 7.4%)
- Mexico: $48.1 million (up 34.3%)
- India: $34.1 million (down -28.7%)
- South Africa: $12.1 million (up 117.4%)
- Bosnia/Herzegovina: $11.6 million (down -8.2%)
- Bangladesh: $10.4 million (up 129.5%)
- Argentina: $10.4 million (up 32.6%)
World-leading Indonesia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Indonesian competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Charcoal
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for charcoal during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported charcoal purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- South Korea: -US$142 million (net export deficit up 17.8% since 2022)
- Japan: -$127.6 million (up 5.3%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$107.5 million (down -26.2%)
- United States of America: -$95.1 million (up 9.5%)
- mainland China: -$61.6 million (reversing a $26.3 million surplus)
- Iraq: -$61.2 million (down -24.8%)
- Germany: -$59.7 million (down -9.9%)
- United Kingdom: -$50.2 million (down -20.7%)
- France: -$48.2 million (down -23%)
- Norway: -$45.7 million (up 4%)
- Italy: -$38.6 million (up 23.5%)
- Greece: -$38 million (up 1%)
- Jordan: -$33.3 million (up 15.2%)
- Bhutan: -$30.9 million (down -29.5%)
- Türkiye: -$26 million (up 8%)
South Korea and Japan incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of charcoal. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for charcoal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Charcoal Exporting Companies
The following suppliers are examples of charcoal-trading exporters.
- Basques Hardwood Charcoal (Canada)
- Dolimex SRL (Paraguay)
- HBE Trading (Netherlands)
- Jiangshan Luyi Bamboo Charcoal Co (China)
- Kim Ban Marketing (Malaysia)
- Sumber Jaya (Indonesia)
- UA Wood LLC (Ukraine)
- Vietgo Company Limited (Vietnam)
The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
See also Sawn Wood Exports by Country, Coal Exports by Country, Electricity Exports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country and Top Sand Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Product showroom for charcoal. Accessed on September 6, 2024
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 6, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 6, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 6, 2024
Patel Vidhu, 6 Differences Between Coal and Charcoal. Accessed on August 28, 2023
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on September 6, 2024
Wikipedia, Charcoal. Accessed on September 6, 2024