Honey: World Production, Top Exporters, Top Importers, and United States Imports by Country

28/07/2012 by Isaac Thompson 16 Comments
This report covers specifically the product Honey, HS: 0409. We report production of honey by country with a bar chart. We rank the world’s top exporters and the world’s top importers. We conclude with United States imports of honey by foreign country.
Honey Production by Country
Honey, HS 0409, is a naturally produced sweet gathered and used by man for the last 8000 years. There are many different grades of honey available. Natural grade is different from industrial. Every batch of honey is special, even when from a similar region bees gather nectar from a wide variety of plants, producing distinct tastes. For the purpose of this report we lump all grades together under the HS code of 0409. Below is a bar graph of the world’s top honey producers by country and amount. The data is available at http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx. Countries vary by year available. Check website for more specifics.
World Honey Production by Country and Tonnage

World Honey Exporters
With PIERS StatsPlus we can look at honey exports and imports. Following the production trends, China was the number one honey exporter in the world, selling 284 million dollars worth in 2009. China dominated 12% of the global honey sales. Germany was the second largest exporter followed by Mexico. Exported Mexican honey accounted for 7% of the total market. Below is a list of countries exporting by value with a pie chart.
World Exporters of Honey by Country, Market Value, and Estimated Value

World Honey Importers
Germany was the number one honey importer in 2009. They imported almost a quarter of the available honey, 24%. United States was the world’s second largest honey importer, importing 16% of the market share at an estimated value of 383 million dollars. The United Kingdom was third, France was fourth, and Japan was the fifth. Below is a list of the top ten countries importing honey in the world with estimated value and market share.
World’s Top Importers of Honey by Country, Market Value, and Estimated Value

United States Imports of Honey
While the United States is one of the world’s largest producers of honey, they are also the second largest importer. They buy more honey than the largest exporter of honey sells. The United States has a unique and diversified honey import profile. The United States imports 19% of their foreign honey from Argentina, spending an estimated value of 54 million dollars in 2010. Vietnam was the second largest source, accounting for 16% of U.S. bought foreign honey in 2010. The U.S. spent an estimated 47 million dollars on Vietnamese honey in 2010. India was the third largest source and Canada was the fourth. Below is a list of the top ten counties that Untied States is buying honey from.
United States Imports of Honey 2010, list by country, estimated value, and market share percentage with pie chart