A cheese-like food made from curdled soyabean milk, tofu is also called bean curd. The textured food product is made by pressing curds of coagulated soy milk into solid white blocks.
The overall sales for exported tofu increased by an average 4.6% for all exporting countries since 2018 when worldwide shipments of tofu were valued at $1.34 billion.
Year over year, globally exported tofu flatlined via a -0.3% reduction compared to $1.41 billion for 2021.
The 5 biggest tofu exporters (United States of America, Italy, Bolivia, Serbia and Ethiopia) generated 92.8% of international sales of tofu during 2022. Such a high percentage demonstrates a highly concentrated cohort of global tofu suppliers.
Among continents, sellers located in North American countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported tofu during 2022 with shipments valued at $1.09 billion or 77.6% of the world total. In second place were European exporters at 14.5%.
Smaller percentages came from suppliers in Latin America (3.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.7%), Asia (1.2%), then Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand only (0.4%).
In addition to total export sales, this article highlights key countries that offer the lowest and highest unit price per ton of exported tofu. Also identified are the biggest exporting countries in terms of shipment weight.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 120810 for soyabean flour and meal. Those are key ingredients for making tofu with boiling water.
Best Tofu Exporters by Global Sales per Country
Listed below are the 15 major suppliers of exported tofu ranked in descending order by total sales per country.
Also shown is percentage that each exporter furnishes in terms of the overall value of globally exported tofu.
- United States: US$1.1 billion (77.1% of total tofu exports)
- Italy: $120.8 million (8.6%)
- Bolivia: $48.4 million (3.5%)
- Serbia: $27.9 million (2%)
- Ethiopia: $23.5 million (1.7%)
- Austria: $17.1 million (1.2%)
- India: $10.6 million (0.8%)
- Netherlands: $9.2 million (0.7%)
- Portugal: $8.5 million (0.6%)
- Canada: $7.4 million (0.5%)
- Togo: $7.3 million (0.5%)
- Belgium: $5.1 million (0.4%)
- Australia: $5 million (0.4%)
- South Africa: $4.1 million (0.3%)
- China: $2.6 million (0.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.3% of all tofu exported in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing tofu exporters since 2021 were: Canada (up 202.9%), Italy (up 74.8%), South Africa (up 63.4%) and Togo (up 52.4%).
Five major suppliers posted declines in their exported tofu sales, namely: Netherlands (down -37.8% from 2021), Portugal (down -27.6%), India (down -21.1%), United States of America (down -5.5%) and Serbia (down -3%).
Lowest Average Unit Prices for Tofu Exports by Country
Health-conscious consumers often choose tofu is an affordable plant-based food as an alternative for meat proteins.
The average unit price charged per ton of tofu soyabean flour and meal was US$580 per ton in 2022. The average unit price for tofu is 21.9% higher than the average $476 per ton during 2021.
Ranked starting with the most economical providers, listed below are the tofu suppliers offering the lowest average unit prices in 2022.
- Honduras: US$19 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
- Ivory Coast: $40 per ton (Down -88% from 2021)
- Bulgaria: $295 per ton (Down -82.3%)
- Bahrain: $333 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
- Argentina: $349 per ton (Down -48.6%)
- United Kingdom: $397 per ton (Down -28.2%)
- Togo: $411 per ton (Up 2.8%)
- Bolivia: $474 per ton (Up 3.3%)
- Mozambique: $479 per ton (Down -78.6%)
- Tanzania: $481 per ton (Up 8.3%)
All of the above tofu supplying countries charge average unit prices less than the global average unit value of $580 per ton.
The greatest percentage drops from 2021 to 2022 were collected by suppliers in the Ivory Coast (down -88% from 2021), Bulgaria (down -82.3%), Mozambique (down -78.6%), Argentina (down -48.6%) and the United Kingdom (down -28.2%).
Highest Average Unit Prices for Tofu Exports by Country
Ranked starting with the costliest suppliers, listed below are the tofu exporters charging the greatest average unit prices in 2022.
- Estonia: US$8,727 per ton (Up 13.8% from 2021)
- Japan: $8,018 per ton (Up 86.9%)
- Sweden: $6,185 per ton (Up 518.5%)
- Denmark: $4,657 per ton (Up 8.5%)
- Panama: $4,263 per ton (Up 555.8%)
- South Korea: $3,875 per ton (Up 43.9%)
- Guatemala: $2,529 per ton (Down -24.1%)
- Peru: $2,364 per ton (Up 8.3%)
- France: $2,058 per ton (Down -44.8%)
- Rwanda: $2,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
The average unit price for the above high-cost exporters of tofu is $4,468 per ton. That metric is almost 8 times greater than tofu’s global average tonnage price of $580.
The strongest inflation rates in average unit price was recorded by sellers in Panama (up 555.8% from 2021), Sweden (up 518.5%), Japan (up 86.9%) and South Korea (up 43.9%).
Top Tofu Exporters by Weight
In terms of weight, a total 2.4 million tons in key tofu ingredients were exported during 2022.
Shipment tonnage of globally exported tofu shrank by -18.2% from 2021 to 2022.
Below, you will find the top 15 exporters of tofu sorted in descending order starting with the heaviest total shipments by tonnage.
- United States: 2,110,955 tons (Down -16.8% from 2021)
- Bolivia: 102,067 tons (Up 10.7%)
- Ethiopia: 28,354 tons (Up 5.1%)
- Serbia: 24,640 tons (Down -19%)
- Honduras: 18,676 tons (2021 data unavailable)
- Togo: 17,743 tons (Up 48.5%)
- Portugal: 13,986 tons (Down -43.2%)
- Austria: 13,936 tons (Down -6.7%)
- Netherlands: 12,494 tons (Down -42.6%)
- India: 10,193 tons (Down -26.3%)
- Belgium: 7,782 tons (Down -6.4%)
- South Africa: 6,208 tons (Up 55.5%)
- Australia: 5,986 tons (Up 28.7%)
- Canada: 5,143 tons (Up 79.4%)
- United Kingdom: 4,809 tons (Up 26.1%)
By weight, shipments of tofu from the United States were almost 8 times greater than the subtotal for the other 14 competitors listed above.
The fastest weight increases were recorded by tofu exporters in Canada (up 79.4% from 2021), South Africa (up 55.5%), Togo (up 48.5%) and Australia (up 28.7%).
The most dramatic drops in shipment weight were attributed to shippers in Portugal (down -43.2% from 2021), Netherlands (down -42.6%) and India (down -26.3%).
See also Soya Beans Exports by Country, Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Top Red Meat Exporters Ranked by Dollar Value, Top Ginger Exporters and Top Vitamins Exports & Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, China Exporters of Tofu Supplements. Accessed on October 18, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 18, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 18, 2023
SELF, 10 of the Cheapest Healthy Foods You Can Buy. Accessed on October 18, 2023
Wikipedia, Tofu. Accessed on October 18, 2023