Overall spending on chocolate imports increased by an average 26.2% for all importing countries since five years earlier in 2019 when international purchases of chocolate cost $29.4 billion.
Year over year, worldwide revenues generated from imported chocolate rose 9.9% from $33.7 billion during 2022.
The 5 main countries for buying imported chocolate are the United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Collectively, those top 5 chocolate importers bought almost two-fifths (39.6%) of the total value for globally imported chocolate in 2023.
From a continental perspective, suppliers in Europe spent the most on imported chocolate during 2023 with purchases valued at $22.5 billion or 60.8% of the overall total. In second place were Asian importers at 17.4% while another 15.5% of worldwide chocolate imports was delivered to customers in North America.
Smaller percentages were bought by importers in Latin America (2.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania (1.9%) led by Australia and New Zealand, and finally Africa (also 1.9%).
For research purposes, 1806 is the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa.
Chocolate Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2023.
- United States: US$4 billion (10.9% of total imported chocolate)
- United Kingdom: $3.1 billion (8.4%)
- Germany: $3 billion (8.1%)
- France: $2.7 billion (7.3%)
- Netherlands: $1.8 billion (4.8%)
- Belgium: $1.4 billion (3.7%)
- Canada: $1.3 billion (3.5%)
- Poland: $1.2 billion (3.3%)
- Spain: $837.3 million (2.3%)
- Italy: $785.1 million (2.1%)
- Russia: $695.6 million (1.9%)
- Japan: $650.9 million (1.8%)
- Austria: $628.1 million (1.7%)
- mainland China: $593.6 million (1.6%)
- Czech Republic: $566.9 million (1.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 62.8% of all chocolate imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for chocolate since 2022 were: Belgium (up 28%), Austria (up 25.7%), Germany (up 20.2%) and the Czech Republic (up 20.2%).
Japan was the lone decliner, recording a -10.3% year-over-year slowdown in spending.
Searchable List of Chocolate Importer Countries in 2023
The 100 key importers of chocolate showcased in the following automated database bought 98.4% of total imported chocolate in 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Chocolate Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $4,046,180,000 | +5.5% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | $3,105,403,000 | +16.2% |
| 3. | Germany | $3,003,163,000 | +20.2% |
| 4. | France | $2,721,708,000 | +12.7% |
| 5. | Netherlands | $1,779,289,000 | +12.4% |
| 6. | Belgium | $1,365,777,000 | +28% |
| 7. | Canada | $1,297,356,000 | +4.4% |
| 8. | Poland | $1,204,059,000 | +12.3% |
| 9. | Spain | $837,331,000 | +15.5% |
| 10. | Italy | $785,063,000 | +16.7% |
| 11. | Russia | $695,633,000 | +12.7% |
| 12. | Japan | $650,897,000 | -10.3% |
| 13. | Austria | $628,085,000 | +25.7% |
| 14. | mainland China | $593,560,000 | +3.1% |
| 15. | Czech Republic | $566,918,000 | +20.2% |
| 16. | Sweden | $507,108,000 | +3.8% |
| 17. | Saudi Arabia | $502,016,000 | -5.7% |
| 18. | Romania | $499,223,000 | +17.7% |
| 19. | Australia | $465,487,000 | +5.2% |
| 20. | United Arab Emirates | $460,649,000 | -16.1% |
| 21. | Ireland | $448,574,000 | +20.6% |
| 22. | Denmark | $442,037,000 | +17.5% |
| 23. | Hungary | $400,050,000 | +16.8% |
| 24. | Hong Kong | $370,110,000 | +23.5% |
| 25. | South Korea | $356,215,000 | -1.9% |
| 26. | Mexico | $341,458,000 | +20.4% |
| 27. | Switzerland | $332,592,000 | +14.1% |
| 28. | Slovakia | $321,376,000 | -5% |
| 29. | Portugal | $316,628,000 | +14.8% |
| 30. | Kazakhstan | $294,764,000 | +23.9% |
| 31. | Bulgaria | $281,502,000 | +18.3% |
| 32. | Singapore | $279,500,000 | +16.4% |
| 33. | Croatia | $268,468,000 | +31.9% |
| 34. | Norway | $262,260,000 | +11.9% |
| 35. | Philippines | $233,456,000 | +8.5% |
| 36. | Iraq | $228,733,000 | -0.2% |
| 37. | Israel | $221,522,000 | -5.4% |
| 38. | Finland | $204,947,000 | +13.7% |
| 39. | New Zealand | $199,533,000 | +4.4% |
| 40. | Malaysia | $189,661,000 | -8.1% |
| 41. | Greece | $185,898,000 | +25.3% |
| 42. | Thailand | $184,652,000 | +4.1% |
| 43. | Lithuania | $184,263,000 | +23.4% |
| 44. | Türkiye | $182,430,000 | +11.1% |
| 45. | Ukraine | $166,067,000 | +27.6% |
| 46. | Brazil | $161,368,000 | +32.9% |
| 47. | Slovenia | $156,419,000 | +12.1% |
| 48. | Libya | $142,382,000 | +9.7% |
| 49. | Serbia | $142,025,000 | +25.3% |
| 50. | Taiwan | $141,288,000 | -3.8% |
| 51. | Kuwait | $130,200,000 | -34% |
| 52. | Chile | $129,134,000 | -9.2% |
| 53. | India | $128,869,000 | +15.9% |
| 54. | South Africa | $126,094,000 | +6.2% |
| 55. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $125,729,000 | +21.9% |
| 56. | Indonesia | $116,721,000 | -5.7% |
| 57. | Azerbaijan | $108,236,000 | +13.6% |
| 58. | Vietnam | $103,018,000 | +65.3% |
| 59. | Morocco | $101,285,000 | +11.4% |
| 60. | Latvia | $100,624,000 | +14.8% |
| 61. | Jordan | $90,344,000 | -10.5% |
| 62. | Qatar | $87,251,000 | -23.8% |
| 63. | Georgia | $82,965,000 | +10% |
| 64. | Luxembourg | $77,522,000 | +16.3% |
| 65. | Estonia | $76,747,000 | +21.3% |
| 66. | Mongolia | $70,363,000 | +0.6% |
| 67. | Armenia | $63,938,000 | +1.7% |
| 68. | Kyrgyzstan | $60,767,000 | +19.5% |
| 69. | Argentina | $59,167,000 | +16.1% |
| 70. | Guatemala | $58,907,000 | +9.3% |
| 71. | Lebanon | $58,821,000 | -6.7% |
| 72. | Panama | $56,268,000 | +8.4% |
| 73. | Colombia | $55,504,000 | -13.6% |
| 74. | Costa Rica | $54,131,000 | +20% |
| 75. | Egypt | $53,647,000 | -28.3% |
| 76. | North Macedonia | $53,435,000 | +20.9% |
| 77. | Ecuador | $52,605,000 | +1.4% |
| 78. | Peru | $50,234,000 | -9.5% |
| 79. | Bahrain | $49,698,000 | +1% |
| 80. | Uzbekistan | $49,428,000 | -61% |
| 81. | Tajikistan | $45,233,000 | +8.2% |
| 82. | Cyprus | $41,860,000 | +14.1% |
| 83. | Palestine | $41,227,000 | -64% |
| 84. | Dominican Republic | $39,509,000 | +8.8% |
| 85. | Yemen | $38,576,000 | -20.7% |
| 86. | Nigeria | $37,454,000 | +29.3% |
| 87. | Oman | $37,068,000 | -74.8% |
| 88. | Montenegro | $36,223,000 | +29.9% |
| 89. | Moldova | $35,992,000 | +5.6% |
| 90. | Macao | $35,064,000 | +40.5% |
| 91. | Paraguay | $33,663,000 | +15.4% |
| 92. | Iceland | $32,719,000 | +19.8% |
| 93. | Albania | $31,855,000 | +1248% |
| 94. | Bolivia | $30,718,000 | -2.3% |
| 95. | Uruguay | $29,982,000 | -1.2% |
| 96. | Malta | $29,964,000 | +28.4% |
| 97. | Mauritius | $29,806,000 | +28.4% |
| 98. | El Salvador | $29,576,000 | +7.5% |
| 99. | Venezuela | $28,825,000 | -22% |
| 100. | Belarus | $24,169,000 | +74.3% |
Among this larger cohort of chocolate importers, the fastest-growing increases belong to Albania (up 1,248% from 2022), Belarus (up 74.3%), Vietnam (up 65.3%), Macao (up 40.5%) and Brazil (up 32.9%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means no 2022 data was available.
Chocolate Imports into the United States
The United States of America’s global purchases of imported chocolate totaled US$4.05 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which America imported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Canada: US$2 billion (up 5.1% from 2022)
- Mexico: $612.3 million (up 0.4%)
- Belgium: $215.8 million (up 10.5%)
- Germany: $197.4 million (up 11.8%)
- Poland: $149.8 million (up 3.6%)
- Switzerland: $104.6 million (down -0.5%)
- Italy: $101.2 million (down -8.7%)
- Croatia: $67.8 million (up 103.6%)
- Türkiye: $63.4 million (down -14.8%)
- France: $62.1 million (up 0.3%)
- Ireland: $56.6 million (up 36.5%)
- Peru: $49.8 million (up 71.6%)
- Ivory Cost: $42.8 million (up 2.9%)
- Malaysia: $36.3 million (up 53.5%)
- Austria: $33.7 million (up 23.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.5% of chocolate imported by America in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of chocolate to the United States since 2022 were: Croatia (up 103.6%), Peru (up 71.6%), Malaysia (up 53.5%) and Ireland (up 36.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their chocolate supplied to American importers were: Türkiye (down -14.8% from 2022), Italy (down -8.7%) and Switzerland (down -0.5%).
Overall, the value of the United States’ imported chocolate rose by an average 5.5% from all supplying countries since 2022 when chocolate purchased cost $3.8 billion.
Chocolate Imports into the United Kingdom
United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported chocolate totaled US$3.1 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the UK imported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Germany: US$723.7 million (up 16.9% from 2022)
- Poland: $432.9 million (up 14.1%)
- Belgium: $336.5 million (up 18.5%)
- France: $329.4 million (up 11.8%)
- Italy: $282.9 million (up 5.8%)
- Ireland: $273 million (up 23.6%)
- Netherlands: $201.7 million (up 1.5%)
- Switzerland: $102.9 million (up 25.8%)
- Spain: $66.1 million (up 16.8%)
- Lithuania: $58.8 million (up 185.1%)
- United States of America: $45.2 million (up 4.3%)
- Sweden: $32.9 million (up 74.5%)
- Czech Republic: $24 million (up 21.7%)
- Croatia: $22.5 million (up 11%)
- Slovakia: $21.8 million (up 93%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.1% of chocolate imported by United Kingdom in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of chocolate to Britain since 2022 were: Lithuania (up 185.1%), Slovakia (up 93.0%), Sweden (up 74.5%) and Switzerland (up 25.8%).
The most modest gain in the value of their chocolate supplied to UK importers was recorded by the Netherlands (up 1.5%).
Overall, the value of the United Kingdom’s imported chocolate increased by an average 16.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when chocolate purchased cost $2.7 billion.
Chocolate Imports into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported chocolate totaled US$3 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Belgium: US$662.3 million (up 26.4% from 2022)
- Poland: $506.5 million (up 15.6%)
- Netherlands: $380.2 million (up 24.6%)
- Switzerland: $334.9 million (up 16.8%)
- Italy: $249.5 million (up 16.4%)
- Austria: $204.2 million (up 30.6%)
- France: $135 million (up 3%)
- Croatia: $92.7 million (up 16.3%)
- Spain: $79.8 million (up 81.9%)
- United Kingdom: $45.6 million (up 1.9%)
- Bulgaria: $43.4 million (up 40.3%)
- Sweden: $41.3 million (up 5.1%)
- Denmark: $38.1 million (up 10%)
- Slovakia: $30.7 million (down -10.7%)
- Czech Republic: $27.4 million (up 15.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.6% of chocolate imported by Germany in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of chocolate to Germany since 2022 were: Spain (up 81.9%), Bulgaria (up 40.3%), Austria (up 30.6%) and Belgium (up 26.4%).
Slovakia was the lone top provider to experience a decline in the value of chocolate supplied to German importers, pulled down by a -10.7% drop.
Overall, the value of Germany’s imported chocolate accelerated by an average 20.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when chocolate purchased cost $2.5 billion.
Chocolate Imports into France
France’s global purchases of imported chocolate totaled US$2.72 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of chocolate during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Belgium: US$640.5 million (up 21.2% from 2022)
- Germany: $626.8 million (up 20.3%)
- Italy: $426.9 million (up 9.8%)
- Spain: $167.1 million (up 17.2%)
- United Kingdom: $162.5 million (up 24.6%)
- Poland: $161 million (up 8.7%)
- Netherlands: $142.7 million (down -27.3%)
- Ivory Coast: $133.9 million (up 15.7%)
- Switzerland: $121.7 million (up 5.5%)
- Austria: $17.5 million (up 2.8%)
- Slovakia: $13.9 million (up 30.9%)
- Sweden: $10.2 million (down -54.2%)
- Czech Republic: $8.3 million (down -6.8%)
- Hungary: $7.4 million (up 20.2%)
- Lithuania: $6.3 million (up 18.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.2% of chocolate imported by France in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of chocolate to France since 2022 were: Slovakia (up 30.9%), United Kingdom (up 24.6%), Belgium (up 21.2%) and Germany (up 20.3%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their chocolate supplied to French importers included: Sweden (down -54.2% from 2023), Netherlands (down -27.3%) and the Czech Republic (down -6.8%).
Overall, the value of France’s imported chocolate progressed by an average 12.7% from all supplying countries since 2022 when chocolate purchased cost $2.4 billion.
See also Chocolate Exporters by Country, Hot Chocolate Exports by Country, Candy Sweets Exports by Country, Natural Honey Imports by Country and Sugar Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 30, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 30, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 30, 2024
Wikipedia, Chocolate. Accessed on July 30, 2024