Global sales of candy sweets exported by all countries totaled US$13.4 billion in 2022.
The overall value of exported candy sweets increased by an average 22% for all exporting countries since 2018 when candy sweets shipments were valued at $11 billion.
Year over year, the worldwide value of exported candy sweets rose 7.2% compared to $12.5 billion during 2021.
The 5 biggest exporters of candy sweets are Germany, mainland China, Mexico, Spain and Belgium. That cohort of leading sellers collected 41.6% worth of the international revenues for globally exported candy sweets.
From a continental perspective, shippers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported candy sweets during 2022 with shipments valued at $7 billion or over half (52.5%) of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 25.4% while another 15.8% originated from North America.
Smaller percentages came from suppliers in Latin America (3.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2%), then Oceania (0.8%) mostly New Zealand and Australia.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for candy sweets is 170490. That code prefix encompasses a wide range of confectionery including lollipops, jelly beans, caramels, candy floss, fudge and peanut brittle. Specifically excluded are chewing gum and items containing cocoa (chocolate) which are covered under separate tariff codes.
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of candy sweets during 2022.
- Germany: US$1.7 billion (12.9% of exported candy sweets)
- China: $1.3 billion (9.7%)
- Mexico: $986 million (7.4%)
- Spain: $779.6 million (5.8%)
- Belgium: $775.1 million (5.8%)
- Türkiye: $736.6 million (5.5%)
- Netherlands: $704.6 million (5.3%)
- United States: $610.5 million (4.6%)
- Poland: $537.5 million (4%)
- Canada: $515.7 million (3.9%)
- Italy: $286.3 million (2.1%)
- France: $239.2 million (1.8%)
- Czech Republic: $236.2 million (1.8%)
- United Kingdom: $205.3 million (1.5%)
- Brazil: $192.5 million (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 73.4% of all candy sweets exported in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of candy sweets since 2021 were: mainland China (up 31.1%), Türkiye (up 25.8%), Mexico (up 25.8%) and Brazil (up 24.3%).
There was a pair of decliners in their international sales of candy sweets, namely Belgium (down -12.8% from 2021) and the United Kingdom (down -2.3%).
Searchable List of Candy Sweets Exporters in 2022
The 100 key export countries in the automated database below sold 99.97% of the globally exported candy sweets during 2022.
| Rank | Exporter | Candy Sweets Exports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $1,724,487,000 | +9.3% |
| 2. | China | $1,299,043,000 | +31.1% |
| 3. | Mexico | $985,960,000 | +25.8% |
| 4. | Spain | $779,647,000 | +13.9% |
| 5. | Belgium | $775,054,000 | -12.8% |
| 6. | Türkiye | $736,590,000 | +25.8% |
| 7. | Netherlands | $704,625,000 | +2.8% |
| 8. | United States | $610,464,000 | +13.1% |
| 9. | Poland | $537,492,000 | +8.3% |
| 10. | Canada | $515,664,000 | +23.8% |
| 11. | Italy | $286,280,000 | +12.5% |
| 12. | France | $239,232,000 | +9.2% |
| 13. | Czech Republic | $236,185,000 | +17% |
| 14. | United Kingdom | $205,319,000 | -2.3% |
| 15. | Brazil | $192,514,000 | +24.3% |
| 16. | Switzerland | $178,189,000 | +30% |
| 17. | Thailand | $175,787,000 | +10.1% |
| 18. | Denmark | $170,214,000 | +7.3% |
| 19. | Sweden | $167,753,000 | +1.7% |
| 20. | Russia | $161,625,000 | -21% |
| 21. | India | $158,975,000 | +10.2% |
| 22. | Indonesia | $143,962,000 | +15.7% |
| 23. | Ukraine | $139,192,000 | -31.4% |
| 24. | Slovakia | $128,115,000 | +14.5% |
| 25. | Japan | $125,964,000 | -6.7% |
| 26. | Vietnam | $123,833,000 | +102.4% |
| 27. | South Korea | $115,417,000 | +9.4% |
| 28. | Austria | $110,640,000 | +5.2% |
| 29. | Hong Kong | $102,308,000 | -12% |
| 30. | Hungary | $101,287,000 | +15.7% |
| 31. | Ireland | $99,580,000 | -0.5% |
| 32. | Malaysia | $94,012,000 | +21.1% |
| 33. | Guatemala | $89,708,000 | +19.7% |
| 34. | South Africa | $78,315,000 | +17.7% |
| 35. | Pakistan | $71,026,000 | +71.6% |
| 36. | Greece | $61,222,000 | +11.3% |
| 37. | Egypt | $55,749,000 | +20.5% |
| 38. | New Zealand | $53,236,000 | -21.7% |
| 39. | Australia | $51,122,000 | -13% |
| 40. | Taiwan | $49,383,000 | +4.5% |
| 41. | Finland | $47,809,000 | +1.2% |
| 42. | El Salvador | $45,724,000 | +9% |
| 43. | Singapore | $40,359,000 | +15.5% |
| 44. | Kazakhstan | $40,184,000 | +75.8% |
| 45. | Lithuania | $35,494,000 | +10.4% |
| 46. | Kenya | $33,903,000 | +16% |
| 47. | Zambia | $32,143,000 | +10.9% |
| 48. | Argentina | $28,505,000 | -25.4% |
| 49. | Ecuador | $28,369,000 | +24.8% |
| 50. | Philippines | $28,291,000 | +14.5% |
| 51. | Bulgaria | $28,034,000 | +12% |
| 52. | Costa Rica | $23,637,000 | -3.5% |
| 53. | Romania | $23,239,000 | +15.4% |
| 54. | Jordan | $22,779,000 | -42.1% |
| 55. | Togo | $21,580,000 | +47.2% |
| 56. | Colombia | $19,884,000 | -87.9% |
| 57. | Morocco | $18,806,000 | -8.9% |
| 58. | Croatia | $14,960,000 | +10.1% |
| 59. | Latvia | $14,001,000 | +6.1% |
| 60. | Israel | $13,807,000 | +9.8% |
| 61. | Slovenia | $12,975,000 | -1.4% |
| 62. | Eswatini | $12,760,000 | +3% |
| 63. | Lebanon | $11,510,000 | +0.4% |
| 64. | Serbia | $9,831,000 | +1.8% |
| 65. | Peru | $9,463,000 | +37.4% |
| 66. | Estonia | $9,322,000 | +15% |
| 67. | Bangladesh | $9,286,000 | -36.9% |
| 68. | Iran | $9,210,000 | -92.4% |
| 69. | Trinidad/Tobago | $8,647,000 | +51.6% |
| 70. | Portugal | $8,110,000 | +22.3% |
| 71. | Uzbekistan | $7,270,000 | +47.9% |
| 72. | Moldova | $6,910,000 | +9.4% |
| 73. | Honduras | $6,754,000 | +52.9% |
| 74. | United Arab Emirates | $5,743,000 | -92.3% |
| 75. | Dominican Republic | $5,437,000 | +3% |
| 76. | North Macedonia | $5,341,000 | -3.1% |
| 77. | Norway | $5,176,000 | +31.2% |
| 78. | Chile | $5,044,000 | +24.3% |
| 79. | Senegal | $3,916,000 | +11.5% |
| 80. | Panama | $3,788,000 | +167.3% |
| 81. | Tunisia | $3,371,000 | -70.6% |
| 82. | Kuwait | $3,118,000 | -71.2% |
| 83. | Saudi Arabia | $2,841,000 | -89.6% |
| 84. | Syria | $2,810,000 | -68.4% |
| 85. | Azerbaijan | $2,091,000 | +168.1% |
| 86. | Cambodia | $1,993,000 | +48.8% |
| 87. | Nigeria | $1,877,000 | +78.9% |
| 88. | Zimbabwe | $1,447,000 | +9.6% |
| 89. | Belarus | $1,433,000 | -90.4% |
| 90. | Bahrain | $1,409,000 | -4.4% |
| 91. | Armenia | $1,259,000 | -18.8% |
| 92. | Luxembourg | $763,000 | -5.9% |
| 93. | Macao | $744,000 | -17.2% |
| 94. | Georgia | $576,000 | -23.9% |
| 95. | Ivory Coast | $552,000 | +565.1% |
| 96. | Tanzania | $535,000 | +23.3% |
| 97. | Sri Lanka | $467,000 | +1.7% |
| 98. | Namibia | $461,000 | -47.4% |
| 99. | Iraq | $416,000 | +62.5% |
| 100. | Mauritius | $414,000 | -16.2% |
Focusing on the top 100 exporters, the fastest growers from were Ivory Coast (up 565.1% from 2021), Azerbaijan (up 168.1%), Panama (up 167.3%), Vietnam (up 102.4%), Nigeria (up 78.9%), then Kazakhstan (up 75.8%).
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 2021 data was unavailable.
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Candy Sweets
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for candy sweets during 2022. 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 candy sweets and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Germany: US$987.4 million (net export surplus up 22.6% since 2021)
- mainland China: $979 million (up 54.9%)
- Mexico: $881.4 million (up 25.8%)
- Türkiye: $704 million (up 25.4%)
- Spain: $613.3 million (up 13.4%)
- Belgium: $466.1 million (down -15.6%)
- Netherlands: $262.9 million (up 6.8%)
- Poland: $240.6 million (up 10.5%)
- Brazil: $159.9 million (up 19.3%)
- India: $131.4 million (up 12.8%)
- Czech Republic: $112.8 million (up 15%)
- Italy: $96.1 million (up 10.1%)
- Ukraine: $88.4 million (down -34.3%)
- Pakistan: $68.3 million (up 82.2%)
- Slovakia: $67 million (up 33%)
World-leading Germany generated the highest surplus in the international trade of candy sweets during 2022. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Germany’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Trade Deficits from Candy Sweets
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for candy sweets during 2022. 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 candy sweets purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$2.2 billion (net export deficit up 28.4% since 2021)
- United Kingdom: -$585.4 million (up 17.4%)
- France: -$250.6 million (up 7.8%)
- Australia: -$176.2 million (up 13.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$138.2 million (down -13.7%)
- South Korea: -$133.7 million (up 9.1%)
- Sweden: -$119.7 million (up 30.7%)
- Norway: -$114.3 million (down -10%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$103 million (up 145.8%)
- Romania: -$100.5 million (up 2.4%)
- Iraq: -$92.7 million (down -27.7%)
- Israel: -$80.6 million (up 22.8%)
- Philippines: -$78.4 million (up 41.3%)
- Chile: -$70.4 million (up 7.6%)
- Kazakhstan: -$63.8 million (up 5.3%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of candy sweets. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for candy confectionery-suppliers that target American consumers’ sweet tooth cravings.
Candy Sweets Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are examples of verified companies engaged in the international sales of candies. Their home countries are shown within parenthesis.
- Aspro BV (Netherlands)
- Big Buy (Spain)
- Bold Marketing Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico)
- Chaozhou Qiaoxiang Foodstuff Factory (China)
- EUROBRANDS Grosshandel Lebensmittel GmbH (Germany)
- GeNaTa European Goods SP ZOO SpK (Poland)
- JM Alexander Corporation (United States)
- Kaizer Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Turkey)
- Probel Group SA (Belgium)
- Super Super Market Export Ltd (United Kingdom)
See also Bananas Exports by Country, Pineapples Exports by Country, Apples Exports by Country, Oranges Exports by Country and Kiwifruit Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier information for candy sweets. Accessed on September 7, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 7, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 7, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 7, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 7, 2023
Wikipedia, List of top-selling candy brands. Accessed on September 7, 2023
