The overall value of exported onions rose by an average 19% for all exporting countries since five years earlier in 2019 when international sales of onions were valued at $4.26 billion.
Year over year, the value of internationally sold onions accelerated by 15.9% compared to $4.38 billion for 2022.
The 5 biggest exporters of onions are the Netherlands, mainland China, India, Mexico and the United States of America. Collectively, that cohort of major exporters sold almost two-thirds (63.4%) of all onions exported during 2023. That percentage suggests a relatively concentrated subset of onions exporters.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported onions during 2023 with shipments valued at $2 billion or almost two-fifths (39%) of the global total. Close behind in second place were exporters in Asia at 32.7%, while another 15.9% of worldwide onions shipments originated from North America.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Africa (6.4%), Latin America (3.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (2.7%) comprised mostly of onions exported from New Zealand and Australia.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code is 070310 for onions and shallots. A shallot is a small bulb that resembles an onion. Shallots are used to make pickles or as an onion substitute.
Onions Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of onions during 2023.
- Netherlands: US$1.2 billion (23.2% of total exported onions)
- mainland China: $650.9 million (12.8%)
- India: $642.4 million (12.7%)
- Mexico: $448.2 million (8.8%)
- United States: $298.7 million (5.9%)
- Spain: $261.8 million (5.2%)
- Egypt: $206.8 million (4.1%)
- Poland: $144.8 million (2.9%)
- New Zealand: $105.3 million (2.1%)
- Peru: $103.7 million (2%)
- France: $102.6 million (2%)
- Myanmar: $77.8 million (1.5%)
- Pakistan: $69.6 million (1.4%)
- Germany: $64.3 million (1.3%)
- Canada: $58.4 million (1.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86.9% of onions exported worldwide in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing onions exporters since 2022 were: Myanmar (up 101.8%), Pakistan (up 53.5%), Spain (up 42.1%) and Netherlands (up 37.7%).
Four major suppliers posted declines in their exported onions sales namely: Canada (down -27% from 2022), Egypt (down -7.7%), United States of America (down -7%) and Peru (down -2.5%).
Searchable List of Onions Exporting Countries in 2023
The 100 biggest exporters of onions in the automated database below represent 99.98% of the overall value of globally exported onions during 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Onion Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Netherlands | $1,174,529,000 | +37.7% |
| 2. | mainland China | $650,850,000 | +15.2% |
| 3. | India | $642,405,000 | +22.5% |
| 4. | Mexico | $448,154,000 | +3.1% |
| 5. | United States | $298,663,000 | -7% |
| 6. | Spain | $261,814,000 | +42.1% |
| 7. | Egypt | $206,843,000 | -7.7% |
| 8. | Poland | $144,816,000 | +26.3% |
| 9. | New Zealand | $105,306,000 | +30.7% |
| 10. | Peru | $103,707,000 | -2.5% |
| 11. | France | $102,595,000 | +17.2% |
| 12. | Myanmar | $77,798,000 | +101.8% |
| 13. | Pakistan | $69,638,000 | +53.5% |
| 14. | Germany | $64,282,000 | +37.3% |
| 15. | Canada | $58,362,000 | -27% |
| 16. | Afghanistan | $53,278,000 | +6.2% |
| 17. | Austria | $48,238,000 | +81.6% |
| 18. | Italy | $46,457,000 | +14.6% |
| 19. | Belgium | $42,127,000 | +52.3% |
| 20. | Türkiye | $35,263,000 | +23.7% |
| 21. | Australia | $32,006,000 | +36.6% |
| 22. | Senegal | $31,738,000 | +147.8% |
| 23. | Argentina | $29,532,000 | +17.5% |
| 24. | South Africa | $29,087,000 | +3.9% |
| 25. | Chile | $20,730,000 | +0.6% |
| 26. | Uzbekistan | $19,290,000 | -46.3% |
| 27. | Russia | $15,660,000 | +701% |
| 28. | Morocco | $13,294,000 | -38.7% |
| 29. | Thailand | $13,091,000 | +5.2% |
| 30. | Vietnam | $12,969,000 | +52.7% |
| 31. | Malaysia | $12,099,000 | +15.8% |
| 32. | Indonesia | $11,941,000 | +199.6% |
| 33. | Slovakia | $11,671,000 | +58.1% |
| 34. | Niger | $11,528,000 | -9.1% |
| 35. | Serbia | $10,137,000 | +38.6% |
| 36. | Kazakhstan | $10,109,000 | -34.6% |
| 37. | Iran | $8,732,000 | -86.5% |
| 38. | Czech Republic | $8,019,000 | +56.7% |
| 39. | Denmark | $7,792,000 | +46.3% |
| 40. | Azerbaijan | $6,739,000 | +101.2% |
| 41. | United Kingdom | $6,645,000 | +45.7% |
| 42. | Guatemala | $6,482,000 | +11.7% |
| 43. | Tajikistan | $6,096,000 | -9.9% |
| 44. | Singapore | $5,951,000 | -26.9% |
| 45. | Sudan | $5,653,000 | +313.8% |
| 46. | Jordan | $5,157,000 | +456.9% |
| 47. | Namibia | $4,827,000 | +18.9% |
| 48. | Portugal | $4,807,000 | +17.2% |
| 49. | Moldova | $4,450,000 | +36.7% |
| 50. | Syria | $4,421,000 | +5101% |
| 51. | Colombia | $4,401,000 | +2.6% |
| 52. | Ghana | $4,104,000 | +612.5% |
| 53. | Lithuania | $3,454,000 | +88.6% |
| 54. | United Arab Emirates | $3,363,000 | -88.9% |
| 55. | Greece | $3,332,000 | +225.1% |
| 56. | Japan | $3,227,000 | -73.9% |
| 57. | Ireland | $3,146,000 | +28.7% |
| 58. | Uganda | $2,962,000 | +157.1% |
| 59. | Slovenia | $2,743,000 | +250.8% |
| 60. | North Macedonia | $2,703,000 | +94.7% |
| 61. | Kyrgyzstan | $2,558,000 | +206% |
| 62. | Cameroon | $2,308,000 | +18.1% |
| 63. | Brazil | $2,075,000 | -82.8% |
| 64. | Ecuador | $1,878,000 | -8.7% |
| 65. | Sweden | $1,795,000 | +73.8% |
| 66. | Togo | $1,607,000 | 0% |
| 67. | Madagascar | $1,592,000 | +17% |
| 68. | Tanzania | $1,573,000 | +14.5% |
| 69. | Croatia | $1,477,000 | +225.3% |
| 70. | Kenya | $1,395,000 | +92.4% |
| 71. | Hungary | $1,201,000 | +55% |
| 72. | Albania | $1,099,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Belarus | $1,078,000 | +1300% |
| 74. | Yemen | $1,042,000 | -96.9% |
| 75. | Ethiopia | $929,000 | -35.5% |
| 76. | Ivory Coast | $838,000 | -47.4% |
| 77. | Oman | $831,000 | +64.9% |
| 78. | Luxembourg | $708,000 | -4.3% |
| 79. | Angola | $675,000 | +262.9% |
| 80. | Burkina Faso | $563,000 | -18.3% |
| 81. | Ukraine | $543,000 | +578.8% |
| 82. | Nigeria | $394,000 | -0.3% |
| 83. | Nicaragua | $379,000 | +11.8% |
| 84. | Honduras | $336,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Bulgaria | $331,000 | -31.3% |
| 86. | Tunisia | $321,000 | +6.6% |
| 87. | Switzerland | $304,000 | +17.8% |
| 88. | Armenia | $295,000 | +1867% |
| 89. | Romania | $293,000 | -55.1% |
| 90. | Trinidad/Tobago | $288,000 | -4.6% |
| 91. | Zambia | $282,000 | +276% |
| 92. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $249,000 | +114.7% |
| 93. | Finland | $249,000 | +55.6% |
| 94. | Hong Kong | $237,000 | -83.9% |
| 95. | Jamaica | $234,000 | -11.7% |
| 96. | South Korea | $205,000 | -92.2% |
| 97. | Estonia | $201,000 | +5.8% |
| 98. | Algeria | $176,000 | +141.1% |
| 99. | Sri Lanka | $173,000 | +86% |
| 100. | Lebanon | $144,000 | -81.1% |
Focusing on the top 100 shippers of onions by value, the fastest growers were Syria (up 5,101% from 2022), Armenia (up 1,867%), Belarus (up 1,300%), Russia (up 701%), Ghana (up 612.5%) and Ukraine (up 578.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. Note that a 0% entry in the right-most column means no 2022 data was available.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Onions
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for onions 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 onions and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Netherlands: US$965.6 million (net export surplus up 35.3% since 2022)
- mainland China: $650.6 million (up 15.5%)
- India: $631.9 million (up 20.6%)
- Mexico: $404.9 million (up 1.7%)
- Egypt: $206.8 million (down -7.6%)
- Spain: $153.5 million (up 15.2%)
- New Zealand: $104.2 million (up 32.3%)
- Peru: $103.7 million (down -2.5%)
- Myanmar: $77.8 million (up 101.8%)
- Afghanistan: $49.8 million (up 7.2%)
- Poland: $49 million (down -6.7%)
- Türkiye: $35.2 million (up 23.4%)
- Austria: $32.3 million (up 103.3%)
- Argentina: $29.3 million (up 89.1%)
- Australia: $28.1 million (up 57.6%)
World-leading supplier the Netherlands earned the highest surplus in the international trade of onions. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Netherlands’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Trade Deficits from Onions
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for onions 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 onions purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United Kingdom: -US$379.4 million (net export deficit up 49.6% since 2022)
- Vietnam: -$247.8 million (up 371.2%)
- Germany: -$226.6 million (up 68.7%)
- Malaysia: -$216.8 million (up 5.9%)
- Bangladesh: -$210.3 million (up 44.8%)
- United States of America: -$195.2 million (down -21.1%)
- Canada: -$156.8 million (down -4.3%)
- Japan: -$129.1 million (down -27.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$107.3 million (up 23.9%)
- Indonesia: -$82.7 million (down -10.4%)
- Sri Lanka: -$79.6 million (down -3.9%)
- Belgium: -$68.9 million (up 38.9%)
- Portugal: -$56.3 million (up 83%)
- Ivory Coast: -$51.9 million (up 10.8%)
- Ukraine: -$51.7 million (down -7.2%)
The United Kingdom incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of onions. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for onions-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful UK consumer demand.
Onions Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are examples of onions-trading exporters. Home-country location is shown within parentheses.
- Aalia Gmbh (Germany)
- Agricola Dece SL (Spain)
- BHK Krakow Joint Venture Sp ZOO (Poland)
- Camill Alimentos S/A (United States)
- JDGC (France)
- Jinxiang Luteng Trading Co, Ltd (China)
- Naqshbandi Enterprise (Pakistan)
- Silas Export (Netherlands)
- SMA Trading (Egypt)
- Sri Parvathi Exports (India)
See also Top Cucumbers Exporting Countries, Soya Beans Exports by Country, Asparagus Exports by Country and Top Sweet Pepper and Chili Pepper Exports
Research Sources:
Alibaba, supplier information for onions. Accessed on August 23, 2024
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 23, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 23, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 23, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 23, 2024
Wikipedia, Onion. Accessed on August 23, 2024