   
  
WT/INF/ 224/Rev.3  
 
22 September 2023 
(23-6349) Page: 1/38 
   
 
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TRENDS IN WORLD AGRICULTURAL TRADE ,  
2000 -2021  
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
Revision  
Table of Contents  
1   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  ................................ ................................ ...............................  3 
2   INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  4 
3   KEY TRENDS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
4   DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD TRADE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS  .............................  5 
4.1   World exports and imports of agricultural products  ................................ ........................  5 
4.2   Regional breakdown of world agricultural trade  ................................ .............................  6 
4.3   Main traders of agricultural products  ................................ ................................ ............  7 
4.4   Top net exporters and net importers of agricultural products  ................................ ..........  9 
4.5   Top traded agricultural products  ................................ ................................ ................  11 
5   WORLD TRADE OF SELECTED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS  ................................ ....... 13 
5.1   Soybeans  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  13 
5.2   Wheat and meslin  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 15 
5.3   Rice ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  17 
5.4   Meat and edible meat offal ................................ ................................ ........................  19 
5.5   Cotton  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  21 
6   FOOD PRICE MOVEMENTS  ................................ ................................ .......................  23 
ANNEX  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  24 
 
 
  
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's o wn responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
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  List of Tables  
 
Table 1: Top 10 traders of soybeans, 2021 vs. 2000  ................................ ............................  14 
Table 2: Top 10 traders of wheat and meslin, 2021 vs. 2000  ................................ .................  16 
Table  3: Top 10 traders of rice, 2021 vs. 2000  ................................ ................................ .... 18 
Table 4: Top 10 traders of meat and edible meat off al, 2021 vs. 2000  ................................ .... 20 
Table 5: Top 10 traders of cotton, 2021 vs. 2000  ................................ ................................ . 22 
List of Charts  
 
Chart 1: World trade of agricultural products, 2000 -2021 ................................ ......................  5 
Chart 2: World exports of agricultural products, by regions, 2000 -2021 ................................ ... 6 
Chart 3: World trade of agricultural products, by regions, 2000 and 2021  ................................  7 
Chart 4: Top 10 exporters of agricultural products, 2000 and 2021  ................................ ..........  8 
Chart 5: Top 10 importers of agricultural products, 2000 and 2021  ................................ ..........  9 
Chart 6: Top 10 net exporters of agricultural products, 2000 and 2021  ................................ ... 10 
Chart 7: Top 10 net importers of agricultural products, 2000 and 2021  ................................ .. 11 
Chart 8: Top 15 imported agricultural products, 2000 and 2021  ................................ ............  12 
Chart 9: World* imports of soybeans (HS 1201), 2000 -2021 ................................ .................  13 
Chart 10: World* imports of wheat and meslin (HS 1001), 2000 -2021 ................................ ... 15 
Chart 11: World* imports of rice (HS 1006), 2000 -2021 ................................ .......................  17 
Chart 12: World* imports of meat and edible meat offal (HS 02), 2000 -2021 ..........................  19 
Chart 13: World* imports of cotton (HS 5201 -5203), 2000 -2021 ................................ ...........  21 
Chart 14: Food price indices, 2000 -2021................................ ................................ .............  23 
List of Annex Tables  
 
Table 1: World trade of agricultural products, by regions, 2000 -2021 ................................ ..... 24 
Table 2: Top 10 traders of agricultural products (excluding EU intra -trade), 2021 vs. 2000  ....... 26 
Table 3: World exports of agricultural products (excluding EU intra -trade), by region and  
economy  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  27 
Table 4: World imports of agricultural products (excluding EU intra -trade), by region and  
economy  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  32 
Table 5: Commodity price development for selected products, 2000 -2021 ..............................  38 
 
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
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  1  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  
1.1.  This Note provides an overview  of the major trends in trade in agricultural products between 
2000 and 20 21. World exports of agricultural products almost quintupled  between 2000 and 2021, 
from USD 300 billion to USD 1, 376 billion. World imports increased from USD  325 billion to 
USD 1,408 billion over the same period.  
1.2.  The share of agricultural products in total merchandise exports rose from 6.1% in 2000 to 
7.8% in 20 21, the share in imports from 6.2% to 7. 8%. The lowest share was reached in 2006, but 
then rose steadily following the food  price crisis of 2007 -08. The peak was reached in the first year 
of the pandemic, 2020, with shares of 8.3% for imports and exports . 
1.3.  While North America accounted for more than one quarter of world exports in 2000, its share  
fell to 21% in 2021. Europe also lost in export share. The regions whose shares expanded include 
Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East and the Commonweal th of Independent States, 
including certain associate and former members (CIS). Africa's share remained rather stable.  
1.4.  The European Union was the main exporter  in both 2000 and 2021, but its share went down 
from 20.2% in 2000 to 16.7% in 2021. The United S tates followed in 2nd place in 2021 (share of 
13%),  and Brazil in 3rd (7.5%). Regarding imports, China (14.5%) the United States (12.5%), and 
the European Union (11.3%) were the three most important importers  of agricultural products in 
2021. Back in 2000,  China was still in 7th position with a share of only 3%.  
1.5.  The top net exporters  of agricultural products in 2021 were led by Brazil, whose surplus 
reached USD 91.1 billion. The European Union was in 2nd place, followed by New Zealand. The top 
net importers  in 2021 were China, Japan and the United Kingdom. Back in 2000, China had been 
a net exporter.  
1.6.  The most highly traded agricultural products  in 2021 were "soya beans" (hereby referred 
to as "soybeans"), "maize (corn)" and "palm oil". Their combined  share i n total agricultural trade 
was at 13% in 2021. The share of palm oil almost tripled between 2000 and 2021, with the share 
of soybeans increas ing distinctly  as well . 
1.7.  In 2021, food prices  were 2.4 times above their year 2000 level . On average, they increased  
by 4.2% per year. Cereals prices increased the most, to 2.6 times their 2021 level. Dairy prices rose 
by 3.8% per year, reaching a 119% rise between 2000 and 2021. In 2021, the price of various 
meats was 79% above their 2000 levels, and the price of sugar  116% higher.  
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
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  2  INTRODUCTION  
2.1.  This Background Paper  is divided into five main chapters, starting with two introductory 
chapters. Chapter 3 summarizes the main trends in world agriculture trade , while chapters  4-5 
provide  data on agricultural  trade flows  from 2000 to 2021 on a global , regional, country and product 
level, and chapter 6 covers  food price s. The Paper  does not attempt to be comprehensive , but rather 
is intended to provide an overview  of the major  trends in  world agricultural trade between 2000 and 
2021. 
2.2.  Despite improvements in the collection of  national data, the statistical coverage of several 
African and some Asian economies  remains incomplete. The Secretariat has relied on  Comtrade and 
other databases where available , using  mirror data where necessary . Trade data at detailed product 
level rel y on reported data only.  
2.3.  The geographic  and other  groups  referred to  in this report are only used for statistical purposes . 
They are not an  expression of opinion by the Secretariat on the status of any country or territory, 
the deli neation  of its frontiers, or  of its rights and obligations under  WTO agreements.  
2.4.  The term "agricultural products " is used in accordance with the  definition of the "Agreement 
on Agriculture " (AoA) .2 The term "European Union" is used in reference to  the European Union of 
2021 (EU27 , excluding  the United Kingdom ). The intra-trade of the European Union is generally 
excluded.  
3  KEY TRENDS  
• World exports of agricultural products almost quintupled between 2000 and 2021, from 
USD 300 billion to USD 1,376 billion.  
• While North America accounted for more than one quarter of world exports in 2000, its share 
fell to 21% in 2021. Europe also lost in export share. The regions whose shares expanded 
include Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of 
Independent States, including certain associate and former members (CIS). Africa's share 
remained rather stable.  
• The European Union wa s the top exporter of agricultural products in 2021, and China the top 
importer. China's share in world imports almost tripled between 2000 and 2021.  
 
• Brazil was the top net exporter of agricultural exports in 2021, with a trade surplus of 
USD 91.1 billion . China was the top net importer in 2021, whereas back in 2000 it was a net 
exporter.  
 
• Soybeans were the most imported agricultural product in 2021, with a share of 6.8% of total 
world agricultural imports. The share of palm oil almost tripled between 2000  and 2021, with 
the share of soybeans increas ing distinctly  as well . 
 
• In 2021, food prices were 2.4 times above their 2000 level. On average, they increased by 
4.2% per year.  
 
  
 
2 See https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/14 -ag_01_e.htm . WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
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  4  DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD TRADE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS  
4.1  World exports and imports  of agricultural products  
4.1.  World exports of agricultural products almost quintupled  between 2000 and 20 21, from 
USD 300 billion in 2000 to USD 1, 376 billion  (Chart 1)  in 2021 . This constitutes an average annual 
growth rate of 7.5% per year. World imports increased from USD 325 billion to USD 1,408 billion in 
the same period , reflecting  an annual growth rate of  7.2% per year . 
Chart 1: World trade of agr icultural products, 2000 -2021 
(USD billion  and percentage share ) 
 
 
 Excluding  intra-trade of the European Union (27)  and re-exports of Hong Kong, China.  
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade . 
4.2.  The share of agricultural products in total merchandise exports rose from 6.1% in 2000 to 
7.8% in 20 21, the share in imports from 6.2% to 7. 8%. The lowest share  was reached in 2006 , but 
then r ose steadily following the food price crisis of 200 7-08. The peak was reached in the first year 
of the pandemic,  2020, with shares of 8.3% for each flow.  
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  4.2  Regional breakdown of world agricultural  trade  
4.3.  Charts 2 and 3 depict the breakdown of world agricultural trade by regio n between 2000 and 
2021. While North America  accounted for  more than one quarter  of world exports in 2000, its share 
fell to 21% in 20 21. Europe 's export share  also fell (from 28% to 24%). The regions whose shares 
rose include  Asia ( from 24% to 2 9%), South and Central America ( from 14% to 1 6%), the Middle 
East (from 1.7% to 2.2%)  and the CIS (from 1% to 3%). Africa's share remained rather stable at 
around 4.3% (2000) to 4. 5% (2021) . 
4.4.  Agricultural exports of the CIS3 showed a t welvefol d increase between 2000 and 20 21 (average 
annual increase of 1 3%), while exports of both Middle East  and Asia went up almost  sixfold in these  
years.  
4.5.  On the import side, Europe's share of world imports of agricultural products went down by 6% 
between 2000 and 20 21 (from 26% to 20%). South and Central America's share decreased by 1% 
(from 7% to 6%), the share of the CIS by 2 %, while  Africa's share remain ed stable (at 6%). The 
share of Asia share showed distinct growth (from 3 5% to 40%) and so did North America's (from 
16% to 20%). 
Chart 2: World exports of agricultural products, by regions, 2000 -2021 
(USD billion ) 
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union (27)  and re-exports of Hong Kong, China.  
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
4.6.  Asian  imports of agricultural products rose sixfold between 2000 and 20 21 (average annual 
growth of 8.6%), with the imp orts of Africa, the CIS  and the Middle East rising by a similar  rate. 
European imports showed the smalle st increase of all  regions ; with an average  growth rate of  5.3% 
per year.  
4.7.  A full overview of  developments  by region between 2000 and 20 21 can be found in Table  1 of 
the Annex , and an overview  by region  and by individual economy in Table 3  of the Annex . 
  
 
3 Commonwealth of Independent States, including certain associate and former member States.  
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  Chart 3: World trade of agricultural products, by regions, 2000  and 20 21 
(Percentage share ) 
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union (27)  and re-exports of Hong Kong, China.  
1) Including certain associate and former member States.  
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
 
4.3  Main traders of agricultural products  
4.8.  Chart 4 shows the top 10 exporters of agricultural products in 2000 and 20 21. The European 
Union was the main exporter  in both 2000  and 2021, but its share went down from 20.2% in 2000 
to 16.7% in 2021 . The United States ' (second position in both years)  share  fell from 19.1% in 2000 
to 13.1%  in 2021. Brazil jumped from 6th place in 2000 (share of 4.3%) to  3rd place in 2021 (share 
of 7.5%), while Canada (top 3 in 2000) fell to 5th place in 2021 (from 5.3% to 4.3%) . The 
United Kingdom (top 4 in 2000) fell out of the top 10 ( 14th place in 2021). While China rose from 7th 
place in 2000 to 4th place in 2021, Canada fell from 3rd in 2000 to 5th in 2021, and Argentina from 
8th to 10th. India appeared on 9th in 2021, not being amon gst the top 10 in 2000 yet.  
4.9.   While back in 2000, the top four exporters accounted for half of world  agricultural  exports, th e 
level of  concentration  fell in 20 21 to 42%. Furthermore, while i n 2000, the top 10 exporters  
accounted for  71% of world exports of agricultural products , in 20 21 they only accounted for  63%. 
A reflection of the  increased diversification of exporting countries.  
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  Chart 4: Top 10 exporters of agricultural products, 2000  and 20 21 
(USD billion  and percentage share ) 
 
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
 
4.10.   Chart 5 shows the top 10 importers of agricultural products in 2000 and 20 21. While in 2000, 
the top three  importers were the European Union  (17.3%), the United States  (13.0%) and Japan  
(11.2%), in 20 21 the ranking  was led by China ( 14.5%) the United States ( 12.5%), and the 
European Union (11.3%). In fact, China jumped from 7th to 1st place from 2000 to 2021, with its  
share in world imports almost quintupling . Hong Kong (China)  no longer feature d amongst the top 
10 importers of 20 21, while India, which  had not been  amongst the top 10  back in 2000, became a  
top 10 importe r in 2021 in 10th place. 
4.11.   While the  top 10 importers accounted for 67% of world imports in 2000, they only accounted 
for 60% in 2019. Despite this 7% fall, distinctly  more than half of world imports of agricultural 
products remain ed concentrated amongst  the top 10.  
4.12.   Table 2 of the Annex contains the list of top exporters and  importers.  
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  Chart 5: Top 10 importers of agricultural products, 2000  and 20 21 
(USD billion  and percentage share)  
 
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
4.4  Top n et exporters and net importers  of agricultural products  
4.13.   Chart  6 shows the  top 10 net exporters (i.e. with exports exceeding  imports). The economy 
with the highest positive trade balance for agricultural products in 20 21 was Brazil ; its exports 
surpass ing imports by USD 91.1 billion. It was also the exporter that increase d its trade surplus the 
most between 2000 and 20 21, by USD 82.5 billion.  The European  Union 's trade balance grew by 
USD 66.5 billion, New Zealand 's by USD 36.6 billion and Argentina 's by USD 28.4 billion. All the top 
net exporters of 20 21 were also  net exporters in 2000.    
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  Chart 6: Top 10 net exporters of agricultural products, 2000  and 20 21 
(USD billion ) 
 
 
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
4.14.   Chart 7 contains  the ranking of the top 10 net importers (i.e. with imports exceeding  exports) 
of 2021. China occupies 1st place, with a trade deficit for agricultural products of USD 141.0 billion . 
Back in 2000 China had been a  net exporter with a positive trade balance of USD 2.3 billion ; also 
Viet Nam used to be a net exporter in 2000 (+USD 1.4 billion) . All the other  eight net importers of 
2021 had also been  net importers in 2000; with all of them  increas ing their trade deficit.  Among st 
these eight, the United Kingdom 's deficit grew the most, by USD 22.9 billion (from USD 13.4 billion 
to USD 36.3 billion), followed by  Japan (from USD  34.9 billion to USD  56.6 billion)  and the Republic 
of Korea  (from USD 6.7 billion to USD 26.5 billion) . 
  
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  Chart 7: Top 10 net importers of agricultural products, 2000  and 20 21 
(USD billion ) 
 
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade.  
4.5  Top traded agricultural products  
4.15.   Chart 8 shows t he top 15 most imported agricultural products4 in 2000 and 20 21. In 2000, 
"wheat and meslin " (HS 10.01), "soya beans " (HS 12.01) and "coffee, coffee husks and skins and 
coffee substitutes " (HS 09.01) were the top imported products, reaching shares of 4.0%, 3.5% and 
3.2%, respectively . Together they accounted for approximately  11% of wo rld imports of agricultural 
products .  
4.16.   In 20 21, the top product changed to "soya beans " (HS 12.01) with a share of 6.8%, and 
wheat/meslin  dropped from 1st to 4th place. "Maize (corn) " (HS 10.05)  moved to 2nd place (share of 
3.7%) , while  "coffee, coffee husks […] " moved from 3rd to 9th place (share of 2. 1%). "Palm oil" (HS 
15.11) went from 22nd place in 2000 (share of 1.2%) to 3rd in 2021 (share of 3.4%).  The combined 
share of the top 3 products increased  to almost  13% in 2021. The change  in product composition  
from 2000 to 20 21 was significant. For example, the share of palm oil almost tripled between 2000 
and 2021, with the share of soybeans increas ing distinctly . The share of "tobacco, unmanufactured" 
(HS 24.01) , on the other hand,  fell from 2.1% in 2000 to 0.7% in 2021.  
4.17.   The top 15 products accounted for  37.5% of world agricultural imports in 2000, and 40.6% 
in 2021.  
  
 
4 On the 4 -digits -level of t he Harmonized System (HS).  
WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
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  Chart 8: Top 15 imported agricultural products , 2000  and 20 21 
(Percentage shares ) 
 
 
 
Source:  Comtrade database . 
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  5  WORLD TRADE OF SELECTED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS  
5.1  Soybeans  
5.1.  World imports of soybeans increased on average by 10.9% per year between 2000 and 20 21, 
substantially more than total agricultural imports (+ 7.5% per year) . Soybean imports grew by nearly  
nine times in value, from USD 10 billion in 2000 to a peak of USD 88 billion in 20 21 (Chart  9). The 
share of soybeans in total agricultural imports went up from 3.3% in 2000 to 5.6% in 2 021. In net 
weight terms, world imports increased by more than three  times between 2000 and 20 21, from 
46 million tons in 2000 to 151 million tons in 20 21. 
5.2.  Soybeans prices reached their maximum in 20 21, when prices were 2. 8 times higher than in 
2000 – after the previous peak in 2008 (where they were 2.5 times above their 2000 level – see 
Table 5 of Annex ). While world soybeans imports increased in value terms by 35% year -on-year in 
2021, they slightly decreased in net weight  terms ( -0.3%).  
Chart 9: World * imports of soybeans (HS 1201), 2000 -2021 
(USD billion , million tons  and percentage share ) 
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade.  
5.3.  Table 1 below shows t he top 10 exporters and importers of soybeans for 2000 and 20 21. While 
in 2000, the dominant exporter was the United States , accounting for nearly  60% of world exports, 
its share  declined  to 36% in 20 21 and was overtaken by Brazil . Argentina was in 3rd place in 2000 
and went down to 5th in 2021, Paraguay went from 4th place in 2000 to 3rd in 2021 . Even though the 
United States'  share  decreased distinctly, the value of its exports more than quintupled  between 
2000 and 20 21 (from USD 5.3 billion to USD 27.5 billion ). However, the rise in value of Brazil's 
soybean exports was significantly  higher  over that same period  (from USD 2.2 billion to 
USD 38.6 billion).  
5.4.  The top 10 exporters accounted for nearly  100% of world soybean exports in both years.  
5.5.  In 2000, the European Union ( 28%), China (23%)  and Japan (1 2%) were the top importers of 
soybeans, and together accounted for  more than 60% of world imports. In 20 21, China was top 
importer with a share of 6 1% in total world imports, followed by  the European Union  (10%) and 
Argentina  (3%) – together accounting for more than 70% of world imports .   
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  Table 1: Top 10 traders of soybeans, 20 21 vs. 2000  
(USD billion , 1000 tons  and percentage share)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
Economy  
Value  (USD bn.)  
Share  in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
United States  5.33 59.5%  27192  Brazil  38.64  50.4%  86110  
Brazil  2.19 24.5%  11517  United States  27.52  35.9%  53051  
Argentina  0.78 8.7%  4130 Paraguay  2.98 3.9%  6330 
Paraguay  0.29 3.2%  1796 Canada  2.47 3.2%  4535 
Canada  0.18 2.0%  771 Argentina  2.23 2.9%  4284 
China  0.06 0.7%  211 Uruguay  0.89 1.2%  1760 
Bolivia , Plurinational 
State of  0.05 0.5%  216 Ukraine  0.62 0.8%  1145 
EU (27) extra -trade 0.01 0.2%  63 Russian Federation  0.41 0.5%  982 
Zimbabwe  0.01 0.1%  40 EU (27) extra-trade 0.18 0.2%  163 
India 0.01 0.1%  43 Malawi  0.11 0.1%  29 
sum of above  8.90 99.5%  45979  sum of above  76.04  99.3%  158389  
Top 10 importers  
EU (27) extra -trade 2.82 28.4%  13809  China  53.53  61.1%  96517  
China  2.27 22.8%  10419  EU (27) extra-trade 8.46 9.7%  13894  
Japan  1.22 12.3%  4829 Argentina  2.62 3.0%  4866 
Mexico  0.78 7.9%  3985 Mexico  2.54 2.9%  5651 
Chinese Taipei  0.50 5.0%  2302 Thailand  2.27 2.6%  3997 
Korea, Rep ublic of 0.33 3.3%  1492 Egypt  2.16 2.5%  903 
Thailand  0.28 2.9%  1320 Japan  2.07 2.4%  3271 
Indonesia  0.28 2.8%  1278 Chinese Taipei  1.50 1.7%  2585 
United Kingdom  0.17 1.7%  776 Indonesia  1.48 1.7%  2490 
Iran 0.16 1.6%  602 Türkiye  1.46 1.7%  2493 
sum of above  8.81 88.5%  40812  sum of above  78.09  89.1%  136666  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
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  5.2  Wheat and meslin  
5.6.  The share of wheat an d meslin in world imports of agricultural products decreased from 3. 8% 
in 2000 to 3.2% in 2 021. The world import value of th is product almost quadrupled  from 2000 to 
2021 – from USD 12 billion to USD 45 billion. However, the  imports of other agricultural products 
rose by more (see soybeans in previous section ). As a result, the  overall share of wheat and meslin  
in world imports  went down.  In net weight terms, world imports increased by 1.6 times between 
2000 and 20 21, from 81 million tons in 2000 to 126 million tons in 20 21. 
5.7.  Prices of wheat in 20 21 were 2.8 times above the ir 2000 level ( Table 5  of the Annex ). 
Chart 10: World * imports of wheat and meslin (HS 1001), 2000 -2021 
(USD billion , million tons  and percentage share)  
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
5.8.  The top exporters of wheat and meslin in 20 21 were the  European Union  (17% of world 
exports),  the Russian Federation (15%) and the  United States ( 15%). Back in 2000, the 
United  States was the  top exporter (29%), followed by Canada  (22%) and Australia  (19%). The 
overall share of the top 10 exporters of wheat and meslin was almost 100 % in 2000 and 97% in  
2021 (Table 2  below ). 
5.9.  While Japan  was the top importer of this product in 2000, accounting for  9% of world imports, 
it went down to 8th place in 2021 (4%  of world imports ). In 20 21, the importers with the highest 
shares were Indonesia ( 8%), China (7%)  and Nigeria  (6%). Brazil  fell from 2nd to 7th place between 
2000 and 2021, and the European Union  from 3rd to 10th. 52% of world imports of wheat and meslin 
were imported by the  top 10 importers in 20 21 (down from 58% in 2000). 
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  Table 2: Top 10 traders of wheat and meslin, 20 21 vs. 2000  
(USD billion , 1000 tons  and percentage share)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
United States  3.38 29.5%  27830  EU (27) extra -trade 8.05 16.7%  28205  
Canada  2.49 21.7%  18763  Russian Federation  7.30 15.1%  27354  
Australia  2.20 19.2%  23127  United States  7.29 15.1%  24015  
EU (27) extra -trade 1.36 11.8%  12085  Australia  7.11 14.7%  25563  
Argentina  1.22 10.6%  11019  Canada  6.64 13.8%  21551  
United Kingdom  0.44 3.8%  3614 Ukraine  4.72 9.8%  19395  
Türkiye  0.20 1.7%  1782 Argentina  2.45 5.1%  9485 
Mexico  0.08 0.7%  548 India 1.72 3.6%  6091 
Russian Federation  0.04 0.4%  419 Kazakhstan  1.43 3.0%  5748 
South Africa  0.02 0.1%  173 Brazil  0.28 0.6%  1129 
sum of above  11.42  99.6%  99362  sum of above  46.99  97.5%  168535  
Top 10 importers  
Japan  1.03 8.9%  5854 Indonesia  3.55 8.0%  11481  
Brazil  0.98 8.5%  7523 China  3.04 6.8%  9711 
EU (27) extra-trade 0.83 7.1%  6261 Nigeria  2.72 6.1%  8762*  
Iran 0.86 7.4%  6578 Türkiye  2.69 6.0%  8877 
Algeria  0.80 7.0%  5367 Egypt  2.47 5.5%  3394 
Morocco  0.52 4.5%  3441 Philippines  1.95 4.4%  7054 
Indonesia  0.50 4.3%  3589 Brazil  1.85 4.2%  6225 
Korea, Rep ublic of 0.47 4.1%  3329 Japan  1.78 4.0%  5126 
Philippines  0.39 3.4%  2655 Morocco  1.59 3.6%  4669 
Mexico  0.33 2.9%  2794 EU (27) extra -trade 1.35 3.0%  4181 
sum of above  6.72 58.1%  47391  sum of above  23.00  51.6%  60718  
*   Estimate.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 17 - 
 
  5.3  Rice 
5.10.   World imports of rice quadrupled  between 2000 and 20 21, from USD 5 billion to 
USD 21 billion. This corresponds to an average annual percentage change of  6.8%. The share of rice 
in total agricultural imports decreased from 1. 8% in 2000 to 1.6% in 20 21. The highest share 
reached in  that period was in  2008, where it stood at  2.3% (Chart 11).  In net weight terms, world 
imports almost doubled between 2000 and 20 21, from 1 9 million tons  in 2000 to 34 million tons in 
2021. 
5.11.   In 20 21, the price of rice ( "Thai, 5% ") was 2.3 times higher than its  2000 level ( Table 5 of 
the Annex ). 
Chart 11: World * imports of rice (HS 1006), 2000 -2021 
(USD billion , million tons  and percentage share)  
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
5.12.   The top exporters in 2000 were led by Thailand ( 29% of world exports), the United States 
(15%) and Viet Nam (12%) . In 20 21, India (3 8%) overtook  Thailand ( 13%) as the top exporter,  
and the United States fell to  5th place (8%). Viet Nam remained on 3rd place (12%).  The top 10 
exporters accounted for almost  96% of world exports in 2000 and for almost 91% in  2021. 
5.13.   The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  was the  top importer in 2000 (9% of world imports) but fell to 
4th place in 2021 (5%). The European Union was on 2nd place in both 2000 and 2021 (shares of 8% 
and 7% respect ively). Iran – 3rd place in 2000  (6%) - fell to 10th place in 2000 (3%), while the 
Philippines moved up from 12th place in 2000 to 3rd place in 2021 (6%). T he top importer in 2021 
was China, accounting for 10% of world rice imports. In 2000, China was stil l on 16th place. The top 
10 importers accounted for nearly  53% of world imports in 2000 and for nearly 49% in 20 21. 
WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 18 - 
  
  Table 3: Top 10 traders of rice, 20 21 vs. 2000  
(USD billion  and percentage share)  
Economy  
Value ( USD bn.) 
Share  in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
Thailand  1.63 29.1%  6148 India 9.62 38.0%  21280  
United States  0.86 15.3%  2436 Thailand  3.34 13.2%  6076 
Viet Nam  0.67 11.9%  3478 Viet Nam  3.01 11.9%  5712 
India 0.63 11.2%  1482 Pakistan  2.15 8.5%  3986 
China  0.56 10.0%  2953 United States  1.93 7.6%  3385 
Egypt  0.33 5.8%  … China  1.04 4.1%  2448 
Australia  0.23 4.1%  642 Myanmar  0.67 2.6%  1685 
EU (27) extra-trade 0.20 3.5%  392 Cambodia  0.42 1.7%  636 
Uruguay  0.16 2.9%  741 EU (27) extra -trade 0.42 1.6%  424 
Argentina  0.10 1.8%  538 Uruguay  0.38 1.5%  761 
sum of above  5.36 95.6%  18810  sum of above  22.98  90.6%  46393  
Top 10 importers  
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 0.49 9.3%  936 China  2.19 10.3%  4924 
EU (27) extra -trade 0.42 7.9%  1103 EU (27) extra -trade 1.48 6.9%  1978 
Iran 0.34 6.3%  1129 Philippines  1.20 5.6%  1176 
Indonesia  0.32 6.0%  1356 Saudi Arabia, Kingdom 
of 1.09 5.1%  1178 
United Kingdom  0.30 5.6%  594 United States  1.02 4.8%  957 
Japan  0.26 5.0%  656 Côte d'Ivoire  0.73 3.4%  1443 
Malaysia  0.18 3.4%  596 Viet Nam  0.72 3.4%  1185 
United States  0.18 3.4%  406 Ethiopia  0.69 3.2%  1401 
United Arab Emirates  0.16 3.1%  432 Benin  0.64 3.0%  1400 
Hong Kong, China1 0.16 2.9%  … Iran 0.63 2.9%  739 
sum of above  2.81 52.8%  7208 sum of above  10.37  48.6%  16382  
1 Mainly imports for re -export.  
…  Data not available . 
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 19 - 
 
  5.4  Meat and edible meat offal  
5.14.   World  imports of meat and edible meat offal quadrupled  between 2000 and 20 21, rising from 
USD 28 billion in 2000 to USD 87 billion in 20 21 (Chart 12) . On average, imports increased by 6.9% 
per year. The ir share in total world imports of agricultural products went down  from 9.2% in 2000 
to 7.8% in 20 21. In net weight terms , world imports doubled  between 2000 and 20 21, from 
15 million tons in 2000 to 29 million tons in 20 21. 
5.15.   In 2000, 37% of imports were of bovine meat (HS 02.01 and 02.02), 22% of swine  meat 
(HS 02.03), and 20% of poultry meat (HS 02.07) , with the remaining 21% going to other  types of  
meat. In 20 21, bovine meat represented 42% of all imports, meat of swine 2 4%, and poultry meat 
16%. The rema ining 18% of meat imports  was of other  types of  meat. 
5.16.   The price of beef  increased by a factor of 2. 8 between 2000 and 20 21, while the price of 
chicken meat went up 1. 7 times ( Table 5  of the Annex ). 
Chart 12: World * imports of meat and edible meat offal (HS 02), 2000 -2021 
(USD billion , million tons  and percentage share)  
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
5.17.   Table 4 lists the top 10 exporters and importers of meat and edible meat offal in 2000 and 
2021. In 2000, the United States was in  1st place, accounting for  26% of world exports, followed by 
the European Union  (22%) and Australia  (11%). In 20 21, the United  States  continued to top the 
list, but its share went down to 19%. The European Union  came in 2nd (19%), and Brazil 3rd (16%). 
Brazil was in 6th place in 2000. In 2000 , 92% of world exports of meat and edible meat offal was 
exported by  the top 10 exporters , while this share decreased  to 86% in 2021 . 
5.18.   The top 3 importers of this product in 2000 were Japan ( 28%), the United States  (12%) and 
the United Kingdom  (13%) . In 2021, China became the  top importer , covering 28% of world meat 
imports . Back in 2000, China was still on 10th place (share of 2%). The United States followed in 2nd 
place (11%) in 2021, Japan in 3rd (10%).  
WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 20 - 
  
  Table 4: Top 10 traders of meat and edible meat offal, 20 21 vs. 2000  
(USD billion  and percentage share)  
Economy  
Value  (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
Economy  
Value  (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
United States  6.76 25.7%  4821 United States  22.21  19.3%  7974 
EU (27) extra -trade 5.73 21.8%  3510 EU (27) extra -trade 21.43  18.7%  7155 
Australia  2.88 10.9%  1472 Brazil  18.23  15.9%  7226 
Canada  2.46 9.3%  1108 Australia  11.08  9.6%  1717 
New Zealand  1.68 6.4%  781 Canada  7.48 6.5%  1986 
Brazil  1.60 6.1%  1307 New Zealand  6.19 5.4%  992 
United Kingdom  0.87 3.3%  614 India 3.38 2.9%  1171 
Hong Kong, China1 0.81 3.1%  1088 Argentina  3.22 2.8%  833 
China  0.75 2.9%  514 Mexico  3.16 2.7%  577 
Argentina  0.62 2.4%  248 Uruguay  2.80 2.4%  558 
sum of above  24.16  91.9%  15465  sum of above  99.17  86.4%  30189  
Top 10 importers  
Japan  7.69 27.9%  2148 China  31.59  28.2%  9200 
United States  3.39 12.3%  1393 United States  12.00  10.7%  1910 
United Kingdom  2.93 10.6%  1223 Japan  10.98  9.8%  2250 
EU (27) extra -trade 2.57 9.3%  985 Korea, Rep ublic of 6.06 5.4%  1134 
Mexico  1.58 5.7%  1183 United Kingdom  5.10 4.6%  741 
Hong Kong, China1 1.54 5.6%  1628 Mexico  4.94 4.4%  2583 
Korea, Rep ublic of 1.13 4.1%  487 Hong Kong, China1 4.71 4.2%  1392 
Russian Federation  1.02 3.7%  1353 EU (27) extra-trade 4.49 4.0%  930 
Canada  0.77 2.8%  363 Chile 2.45 2.2%  633 
China  0.64 2.3%  1145 Canada  2.33 2.1%  514 
sum of above  23.24  84.3%  11908  sum of above  84.64  75.5%  21288  
1 Mainly re-exports/imports for re -export.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 21 - 
 
  5.5  Cotton  
5.19.   World imports of cotton rose from USD 7 billion  in 2020  to USD 16 billion in 20 21 (Chart  13), 
correspon ding to an average annual change of 3.8%. Its share in world agricultural imports fell from 
2.4% in 2000 to 1.2% in 20 21. In net weight terms, world imports increased by 1.4 times between 
2000 and 20 21, from 6 million tons in 2000 to 8 million tons in 20 21. 
5.20.   The highest  import  value of cotton, of  USD 25 billion , was reached in 2011. In 20 21, cotton 
prices were 71% above  their 2000 level (Table 5  of the Annex ). 
Chart 13: World * imports of cotton (HS 5201 -5203), 2000 -2021 
(USD billion , million tons  and percentage share)  
 
 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union.  
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
5.21.   The top 10 exporters and importers of cotton are shown in Table 5. The United States was 
the top exporter in both 2000 (37%) and 20 21 (32%), followed by Australia ( 17%) and China  (6%) 
in 2000, and by Brazil ( 19%) and India ( 16%) in 20 21. The top 10 exporte rs accounted for 80% of 
world exports in 2000, and 9 1% in 20 21. 
5.22.   The European Union  was the top importer in 2000 (20%) but fell to 7th place in 2021 (3%).  
Indonesia  went from 2nd place in 2000 (10%)  to 5th in 2021 (7%), Türkiye remained on 3rd place 
(9% in 2000; 16% in 2021). China jumped from 16th place in 2000 (1%) to the top importer position 
in 2021, covering 26% of world cotton imports in this year. Also Viet Nam made a considerable 
jump, from 15th place in 2000 (1%) to 2nd place in 2021 ( 19%).  The top 10 importers accounted for 
78% of world imports of cotton in 2000 and 91% in 20 21. 
WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 22 - 
  
  Table 5: Top 10 traders of cotton, 20 21 vs. 2000  
(USD billion  and percentage share)  
Economy  
Value  (USD bn.)  
Share  in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Net weight 
(1000 t)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
United States  1.95 36.6%  1790 United States  5.76 31.8%  3000 
Australia  0.89 16.7%  724 Brazil  3.41 18.8%  2030 
China  0.31 5.8%  299 India 2.83 15.6%  1428 
Turkmenistan  0.23 4.3%  208 Australia  1.44 7.9%  717 
EU (27) extra -trade 0.19 3.7%  250 EU (27) extra -trade 0.95 5.3%  377 
Mali 0.16 3.0%  165 Benin  0.63 3.5%  363 
Côte d'Ivoire  0.15 2.8%  161 Burkina Faso  0.45 2.5%  259 
Zimbabwe  0.13 2.5%  122 Côte d'Ivoire  0.43 2.4%  260 
Benin  0.13 2.4%  136 Türkiye  0.39 2.1%  185 
Burkina Faso  0.11 2.0%  118 Egypt  0.22 1.2%  119 
sum of above  4.24 79.7%  3973 sum of above  16.52  91.1%  8737 
Top 10 importers  
EU (27) extra-trade 1.40 19.3%  1124 China  4.11 26.0%  2147 
Indonesia  0.73 10.0%  565 Viet Nam  3.06 19.3%  1593 
Türkiye  0.68 9.3%  577 Türkiye  2.47 15.6%  1250 
Mexico  0.55 7.6%  463 Pakistan  1.77 11.2%  903 
Thailand  0.47 6.4%  388 Indonesia  1.11 7.0%  565 
Korea, Rep ublic of  0.41 5.6%  325 India 0.54 3.4%  244 
Russian Federation  0.38 5.2%  299 EU (27) extra -trade 0.41 2.6%  167 
Japan  0.37 5.0%  281 Thailand  0.33 2.1%  166 
Brazil  0.35 4.8%  304 Korea, Rep ublic of 0.26 1.7%  133 
Chinese Taipei  0.34 4.6%  284 Mexico  0.26 1.7%  130 
sum of above  5.68 77.9%  4611 sum of above  14.34  90.6%  7297 
Source:  WTO estimates, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor . 
 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 23 - 
 
  6  FOOD  PRICE MOVEMENTS  
6.1.  In 20 21, food prices were 2 .4 times above their 2000 level (Chart 14) . On average, they 
increased by 4.2% per year. Cereals  prices  increased the most , with a total increase of  2.6 times  by 
2021. Dairy  prices rose by 3.8% per year , reaching a 119% rise between  2000 and 2021. In 20 21, 
the price of various meats was 79% above 2000 levels, the price of sugar  116%  higher . 
6.2.  Food prices  increased markedly during the food price crisis of  2007-08. They jumped up by 
30% from 2006 to 2007 , and by a further 25% from 2007 to  2008. Meat prices went up by 9% and 
17%, respectively , in those two years , dairy prices  by 68% and 8% , and c ereal prices by 42% and 
36%. Sugar prices , on the other hand,  went down by 32% in 2007, only to go up ag ain by 27%  in 
2008.  These fluctuations were due to drought in several grain -produc ing countries, a rise in fuel 
prices , population growth and increased  demand for processed food s. The most recent big jump 
happened in 2021 (+28% against 2020) with high cost s of inputs, the continuing COVID -19 
pandemic and specific climate issues.  
6.3.  Table 5 of the Annex provides a more detailed overview o f these price fluctuations for selec t 
agricultural products.  
Chart 14: Food price indices , 2000 -2021  
(Indices, 2000 = 100)  
 
Source:  FAO Food Price Index database . 
  
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 24 - ANNEX  
Table 1: World trade of agricultural products, by regions, 2000 -2021  
(USD billion ) 
Region  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  
Exports  
World1 300.4  313.2  330.1  377.8  430.0  461.4  523.8  637.1  786.3  694.2  802.5  996.1  1027.2  
Africa  13.0 13.1 14.3 17.7 21.4 22.2 24.4 26.7 31.3 34.5 40.2 47.5 51.1 
Asia  71.6 74.1 79.0 87.1 102.8  110.6  122.7  152.5  193.9  170.1  211.7  282.2  285.3  
Commonwealth of Independent States 
(CIS), including certain associate and 
former member States  3.3 2.9 3.8 4.9 5.4 6.9 8.3 13.4 14.9 13.1 12.5 16.7 24.3 
Europe (excluding EU intra -trade)  84.7 86.3 94.1 111.2  125.3  135.0  157.3  184.9  217.4  189.0  200.5  241.5  249.8  
Middle East  5.2 7.1 9.7 9.9 10.1 10.1 12.3 13.0 16.7 15.8 21.1 21.1 20.7 
North America  81.0 83.3 81.6 90.1 96.2 100.4  113.6  138.9  173.7  149.9  174.1  207.7  214.6  
South and Central America (incl. the 
Caribbean)  41.5 46.5 47.7 57.0 68.7 76.1 85.2 107.6  138.5  121.8  142.3  179.5  181.3  
Imports  
World1 325.2  334.1  355.4  409.7  468.8  497.1  547.3  670.4  834.0  725.4  825.7  1034.7  1048.6  
Africa  16.6 18.0 19.6 22.8 27.0 28.4 32.6 44.2 55.1 48.9 56.7 89.0 79.1 
Asia  98.8 98.8 102.3  117.4  138.2  144.4  154.4  187.2  242.1  217.1  270.6  345.4  362.2  
Commonwealth of Independent States 
(CIS), including certain associate and 
former member States  9.9 11.3 12.3 14.3 16.5 20.2 25.2 32.1 41.4 34.7 40.9 49.1 51.3 
Europe (excluding EU intra -trade)  97.9 99.0 106.2  127.7  144.7  152.5  168.5  206.2  247.6  207.2  211.8  255.6  245.1  
Middle East  18.7 20.3 21.8 25.1 29.3 29.5 29.8 41.7 58.8 53.1 61.9 72.1 77.4 
North America  64.0 66.6 73.6 81.3 89.8 98.3 110.0  123.6  138.5  123.4  137.9  164.5  171.5  
South and Central America (incl. the 
Caribbean)  19.4 20.1 19.6 21.1 23.3 23.8 26.9 35.3 50.5 41.0 45.9 59.0 62.0 
 
   
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 25 -  
Region  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Exports           
World1 1070.0  1096.4  1000.1  1002.4  1081.4  1120.9  1122.5  1156.8  1375.8  
Africa  50.2 51.3 51.4 48.6 53.1 55.0 54.7 54.1 62.3 
Asia  291.7  302.1  277.6  277.6  310.0  315.5  311.7  313.7  402.9  
Commonwealth of Independent States 
(CIS), including certain associate and 
former member States  24.6 27.1 22.1 22.9 27.6 31.6 31.7 35.3 39.9 
Europe (excluding EU intra -trade)  271.3  277.4  246.1  248.0  264.8  278.6  286.6  293.8  333.1  
Middle East  23.2 25.3 24.4 23.4 24.3 29.3 26.2 26.7 30.5 
North America  220.8  230.8  211.4  214.7  222.7  228.7  227.1  243.0  282.8  
South and Central America (incl. the 
Caribbean)  188.2  182.3  167.1  167.1  179.0  182.1  184.6  190.3  224.3  
Imports           
World1 1077.8  1119.6  1033.7  1025.3  1101.1  1147.5  1150.6  1187.3  1408.4  
Africa  74.7 82.0 69.2 70.4 73.7 75.9 72.7 77.5 88.6 
Asia  366.7  383.8  368.9  367.7  403.6  421.1  428.6  454.3  563.8  
Commonwealth of Independent States 
(CIS), including certain associate and 
former member States  54.7 52.4 37.7 36.3 41.6 41.2 42.2 41.0 46.9 
Europe (excluding EU intra -trade)  259.2  263.6  235.1  231.6  246.5  259.5  253.7  258.9  286.9  
Middle East  83.2 87.6 81.2 77.9 82.3 80.5 81.9 79.1 88.2 
North America  176.8  186.4  184.9  185.6  194.7  206.0  210.3  214.4  254.6  
South and Central America (incl. the 
Caribbean)  62.5 63.9 56.5 56.0 58.7 63.3 61.3 62.2 79.4 
1 Excluding intra -trade of the European Union (27)  and re-exports of Hong Kong, China.   
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor.  
 
 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 26 - 
 
  Table 2: Top 10 traders of agricultural products ( excluding  EU intra -trade), 2021  vs. 
2000  
(USD b illion and percentage share ) 
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
Economy  
Value (USD bn.)  
Share in world 
trade (%)  
2000  2021  
Top 10 exporters  
EU (27) extra -trade 60.7 20.2%  EU (27) extra -trade 229.7  16.7%  
United States  57.5 19.1%  United States  180.3  13.1%  
Canada  15.8 5.3%  Brazil  103.8  7.5%  
United Kingdom  15.5 5.2%  China  63.1 4.6%  
Australia  14.7 4.9%  Canada  59.7 4.3%  
Brazil  12.9 4.3%  Indonesia  51.6 3.7%  
China  11.9 4.0%  New Zealand  47.7 3.5%  
Argentina  10.9 3.6%  Mexico  42.9 3.1%  
Mexico  7.6 2.5%  India 42.9 3.1%  
New Zealand  6.5 2.2%  Argentina  42.9 3.1%  
sum of above  214.1  71.3%  sum of above  864.4  62.8%  
Top 10 importers  
EU (27) extra -trade 56.4 17.3%  China  204.1  14.5%  
United States  42.4 13.0%  United States  176.5  12.5%  
Japan  36.5 11.2%  EU (27) extra -trade 158.9  11.3%  
United Kingdom  28.9 8.9%  United Kingdom  64.1 4.6%  
Canada  11.7 3.6%  Japan  64.0 4.5%  
Mexico  9.8 3.0%  Canada  42.1 3.0%  
China  9.6 3.0%  Mexico  35.8 2.5%  
Hong Kong, China  8.4 2.6%  Korea, Rep ublic of 34.7 2.5%  
Korea, Rep ublic of  8.3 2.5%  Russian Federation  31.4 2.2%  
Russian Federation  7.3 2.2%  India 31.3 2.2%  
sum of above  219.3  67.4%  sum of above  843.0  59.9%  
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor.  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 27 - 
 
  Table 3: World exports of agricultural products ( excluding EU intra -trade ), by region and 
economy  
(USD b illion) 
Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
World excl. 
EU intra -
trade and 
Hong Kong 
re-exports  313.2  461.4  802.5  1002.4  1081.4  1120.9  1122.5  1156.8  1375.8  
Algeria  0.0 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 
Angola  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 
Benin  0.2 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 
Botswana  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Burkina Faso  0.1 0.3 0.4 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.8 
Burundi  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Cabo Verde  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Cameroon  0.4 0.6 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.1 
Central African 
Rep. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Côte d'Ivoire  2.0 2.8 5.1 6.5 7.1 7.0 7.1 7.3 8.1 
Djibouti  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 
Egypt  0.9 2.0 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.6 5.3 6.4 
Eritrea  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Eswatini  0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 
Ethiopia  0.3 0.9 0.9 1.5 1.7 1.2 2.2 2.2 2.8 
Gabon  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 
The Gambia  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Ghana  0.6 1.1 1.1 3.2 3.2 4.2 3.5 3.2 3.7 
Guinea  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 
Guinea -Bissau  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Kenya  1.0 1.6 2.9 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.2 3.6 3.8 
Lesotho  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 
Madagascar  0.3 0.1 0.2 0.8 1.2 1.3 0.9 0.9 1.0 
Malawi  0.4 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 
Mali 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.2 0.2 
Mauritania  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Mauritius  0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Mayotte  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Morocco  0.7 1.4 2.0 2.9 3.4 3.9 4.2 4.3 5.0 
Mozambique  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 
Namibia  0.2 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4 
Niger  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 1.2 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.1 
Nigeria  0.0 0.7 3.2 0.7 0.8 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.6 
Rwanda  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 
Sao Tom é and 
Principe  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Senegal  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.0 
Seychelles  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
South Africa  2.4 4.1 8.3 8.7 9.8 10.5 9.9 10.3 11.9 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 28 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Sudan  0.3 0.5 0.5 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.0 
Tanzania  0.3 0.6 1.0 1.7 1.6 0.7 1.5 1.7 1.9 
Togo  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Tunisia  0.5 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.9 1.4 1.7 1.6 
Uganda  0.3 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.2 
Zambia  0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.9 
Zimbabwe  0.7 0.7 0.8 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 
Africa total  13.1  22.2  40.2  48.6  53.1  55.0  54.7  54.1  62.3  
Afghanistan  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.1 1.2 
Australia  15.4 19.5 25.9 31.7 36.9 34.0 32.9 30.0 42.1 
Bangladesh  0.0 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.9 
Bhutan  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Brunei 
Darussalam  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Cambodia  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 
China  11.9 19.6 35.6 52.5 54.6 57.7 58.5 57.6 63.1 
Chinese Taipei  0.9 1.1 1.7 2.9 3.2 3.6 3.8 3.7 4.3 
Cook I slands  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Fiji 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
French 
Polynesia  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Hong Kong, 
China  3.7 3.2 6.9 10.2 11.1 11.8 10.6 8.0 8.9 
India  5.2 8.7 20.4 27.3 31.4 32.0 30.7 33.2 42.9 
Indonesia  3.8 8.6 24.0 29.7 36.0 33.8 30.9 35.2 51.6 
Japan  2.6 2.1 3.3 4.3 4.4 5.1 5.4 6.2 7.3 
Kiribati  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Korea , Rep. of  1.7 2.3 3.9 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.8 7.4 8.2 
Lao People's 
Dem. Rep.  0.0 0.0 0.5 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.5 
Macao, China  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 
Malaysia  5.3 9.7 23.7 22.4 23.9 22.6 22.0 23.2 32.1 
Maldives  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Mongolia  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.5 
Myanmar  0.4 0.4 1.1 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.6 4.0 4.2 
Nepal  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.5 1.1 
New Caledonia  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
New Zealand  7.3 11.4 17.2 20.3 23.6 24.4 25.4 25.9 47.7 
Pakistan  1.1 2.0 3.8 3.9 4.2 5.1 4.8 4.4 5.1 
Papua New 
Guinea  0.3 0.5 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.3 
Philippines  1.5 2.3 3.3 4.2 5.6 5.2 5.9 5.5 6.0 
Samoa  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Singapore  2.6 3.6 6.9 9.7 9.7 13.3 13.7 12.8 14.4 
Solomon 
Islands  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 
Sri Lanka  0.9 1.3 2.1 2.5 2.8 2.3 2.6 2.7 3.1 
Thailand  6.5 9.1 19.6 25.4 28.4 30.7 30.7 30.1 34.0 
Timor -Leste  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 29 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Tonga  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Vanuatu  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Viet Nam 2.5 4.0 9.3 16.5 18.7 18.2 17.7 17.6 19.9 
Asia total  74.1  110.6  211.7  277.6  310.0  315.5  311.7  313.7  402.9  
Armenia  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 
Azerbaijan  0.1 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 
Belarus  0.6 1.4 3.2 3.9 4.6 4.9 5.2 5.4 6.3 
Georgia  0.1 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.1 
Kazakhstan  0.5 0.8 2.0 2.2 2.5 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.0 
Kyrgyz  
Republic  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Russian 
Federation  1.2 3.5 5.4 14.3 17.7 20.6 20.1 23.6 26.7 
Tajikistan  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 
Turkmenistan  0.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 
CIS total  2.9 6.9 12.5  22.9  27.6  31.6  31.7  35.3  39.9  
Albania  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Andorra  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Austria  0.8 1.9 2.4 3.1 3.4 3.7 3.8 4.0 4.4 
Belgium  3.8 6.1 6.9 7.8 8.4 8.9 9.0 8.9 10.6 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  0.1 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 
Bulgaria  0.3 0.6 1.0 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.9 2.1 2.8 
Croatia  0.3 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 
Cyprus  0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Czech  
Republic  0.3 0.5 0.6 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1 
Denmark  4.7 6.8 8.0 8.0 8.6 8.6 8.7 9.1 9.6 
Estonia  0.1 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 
Faroe Is lands  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 
Finland  0.7 0.8 1.5 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.1 
France  12.7 18.7 26.6 29.5 31.7 34.2 34.4 33.7 38.9 
Germany  7.6 11.8 20.7 24.2 24.9 25.1 25.5 26.1 26.1 
Greece  1.2 1.5 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.8 7.0 
Greenland  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Hungary  0.7 1.1 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 2.1 
Iceland  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 
Ireland  4.4 6.6 7.5 9.0 10.0 10.1 10.3 10.4 11.6 
Italy 6.3 10.0 14.2 18.3 20.0 21.1 22.2 23.5 27.2 
Latvia  0.0 0.1 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.3 
Lithuania  0.2 0.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.5 
Luxembourg  0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Malta  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Moldova , 
Republic of 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.4 
Montenegro  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Netherlands  10.5 16.1 23.8 29.0 30.8 33.0 32.8 34.1 36.6 
North 
Macedonia  0.2 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 30 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Norway  0.4 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 
Poland  1.1 2.5 4.7 7.3 8.2 9.2 9.4 10.7 11.6 
Portugal  0.5 0.9 1.7 2.1 2.4 2.7 2.4 2.5 2.8 
Romania  0.1 0.2 1.1 2.8 2.7 2.6 3.2 3.2 4.9 
Serbia  0.0 0.0 2.3 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.6 4.2 5.0 
Serbia and 
Montenegro  0.3 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Slovak  
Republic  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 
Slovenia  0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 
Spain  4.4 6.9 10.5 16.3 17.5 18.6 19.5 21.9 25.0 
Sweden  1.0 1.7 2.2 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.5 
Switzerland  2.2 3.7 7.6 9.1 9.4 9.8 9.7 9.9 11.1 
Türkiye  4.1 7.7 11.9 17.6 18.2 18.8 19.1 20.0 24.3 
Ukraine  1.9 4.4 10.0 15.3 17.8 18.7 22.2 22.3 26.7 
United 
Kingdom  14.0 19.5 25.1 27.4 28.3 30.0 29.6 27.3 27.9 
Europe total  86.3  135.0  200.5  248.0  264.8  278.6  286.6  293.8  333.1  
Bahrain , 
Kingdom of  0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 
Iran 1.0 2.2 5.2 6.0 6.0 6.0 2.3 2.2 2.5 
Israel  1.1 1.7 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 
Jordan  0.3 0.7 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 
Kuwait , the 
State of  0.0 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Leban ese 
Republic  0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 
Oman  0.6 0.4 0.9 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.8 
Qatar  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Saudi Arabia , 
Kingdom of  0.4 1.2 2.9 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.5 4.1 
State of 
Palestine  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 
Syrian Arab 
Republic  2.2 1.1 2.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.8 
United Arab 
Emirates  1.2 2.3 4.7 6.6 6.7 12.3 13.2 13.2 15.0 
Yemen  0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.3 
Middle East 
total  7.1 10.1  21.1  23.4  24.3  29.3  26.2  26.7  30.5  
Bermuda  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Canada  17.4 22.0 35.0 43.1 45.1 46.6 45.7 51.3 59.7 
Mexico  7.6 11.2 17.4 28.2 31.4 33.4 36.1 37.9 42.9 
United States  58.3 67.2 121.6  143.4  146.2  148.8  145.3  153.7  180.3  
North 
America 
total  83.3  100.4  174.1  214.7  222.7  228.7  227.1  243.0  282.8  
Antigua and 
Barbuda  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Argentina  11.1 18.1 33.1 35.4 33.7 32.8 37.6 35.0 42.9 
Aruba  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 
Bahamas  0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Barbados  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Belize  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Bolivia , 
Plurinational 
State of  0.4 0.6 1.1 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.5 2.2 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 31 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Brazil  16.3 31.8 63.5 71.3 81.2 84.5 81.4 87.3 103.8  
Chile  3.2 5.3 8.8 11.3 11.2 12.2 12.5 12.3 12.9 
Colombia  2.7 4.4 5.6 6.7 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.7 9.3 
Costa Rica  1.6 2.2 3.2 4.5 5.0 4.7 4.5 4.7 5.3 
Cuba  0.9 0.5 0.8 0.8 1.1 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 
Dominica  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Dominican 
Republic 0.3 0.8 1.3 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.7 
Ecuador  1.5 2.2 4.1 5.5 5.8 6.0 6.1 6.7 6.8 
El Salvador  2.1 0.6 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.2 
Grenada  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Guatemala  1.3 1.9 3.6 4.9 5.4 5.3 5.6 6.1 6.5 
Guyana  0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Honduras  0.6 0.8 1.5 2.1 2.7 2.4 2.0 2.5 2.5 
Jamaica  0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 
Montserrat  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Neth. Antilles  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Nicaragua  0.4 0.6 1.3 1.8 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.7 
Panama  0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.4 
Paraguay  0.8 1.4 4.0 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.0 5.7 7.5 
Peru 0.6 1.3 3.2 5.7 6.0 6.7 7.2 7.6 8.9 
Saint Kitts and 
Nevis  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Saint Lucia  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Saint Vincent 
and the 
Grenadines  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Suriname  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Trinidad and 
Tobago  0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Turks and 
Caicos Is lands  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Uruguay  0.9 1.8 4.1 4.5 5.1 4.6 5.1 4.6 6.3 
Venezuela , 
Bolivarian 
Rep. of  0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 
South and 
Central 
America 
(incl. the 
Caribbean) 
total  46.5  76.1  142.3  167.1  179.0  182.1  184.6  190.3  224.3  
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade  and Trade Data Monitor.  
 
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 32 - 
 
  Table 4: World imports of agricultural products ( excluding EU intra -trade ), by region and 
economy  
(USD b illion)  
Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
World excl. 
EU intra -
trade and 
Hong Kong 
re-exports  334.1  497.1  825.7  1025.3  1101.1  1147.5  1150.6  1187.3  1408.4  
Algeria  2.6 4.0 6.7 9.0 9.4 8.2 7.9 8.3 9.6 
Angola  0.7 1.2 2.7 1.9 2.6 3.2 2.8 2.2 2.2 
Benin  0.1 0.3 0.8 1.2 1.6 1.5 1.0 0.8 1.1 
Botswana  0.3 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 
Burkina Faso  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 
Burundi  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Cabo Verde  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Cameroon  0.3 0.4 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 
Central African 
Rep. 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Côte d'Ivoire  0.4 0.7 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.7 2.6 
Djibouti  0.1 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.7 
Egypt  3.4 4.2 10.0 14.2 13.4 14.8 15.8 13.4 14.3 
Eritrea  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Eswatini  0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 
Ethiopia  0.3 0.5 0.9 2.3 2.0 2.3 1.9 2.6 4.3 
Gabon  0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 
The Gambia  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Ghana  0.3 0.6 1.1 1.4 2.1 2.2 1.7 2.5 3.3 
Guinea  0.1 0.3 0.4 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 
Guinea -Bissau  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Kenya  0.5 0.6 1.5 1.8 3.2 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.2 
Lesotho  0.0 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Madagascar  0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.9 
Malawi  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.2 
Mali 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7 
Mauritania  0.1 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.0 
Mauritius  0.3 0.4 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 
Mayotte  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Morocco  1.7 2.3 4.2 5.2 5.2 5.7 5.7 6.7 7.7 
Mozambique  0.1 0.3 0.4 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.7 
Namibia  0.2 0.4 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 
Niger  0.2 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.7 
Nigeria  1.5 2.2 3.8 4.1 4.6 4.1 4.2 7.2 6.9 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 33 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Rwanda  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 
Sao Tom é and 
Principe  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 
Senegal  0.5 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 2.0 
Seychelles  0.0 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 
South Africa  1.3 2.6 5.5 6.3 6.6 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.9 
Sudan  0.4 0.9 3.1 3.8 2.2 3.2 1.8 2.1 2.3 
Tanzania  0.3 0.3 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 
Togo 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 
Tunisia  0.9 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.7 
Uganda  0.1 0.3 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.7 
Zambia  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 
Zimbabwe  0.1 0.3 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.4 1.0 1.1 
Africa total  18.0 28.4 56.7 70.4 73.7 75.9 72.7 77.5 88.6 
Afghanistan  0.1 0.7 0.7 1.5 2.9 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.0 
Australia  2.9 5.5 10.0 12.6 14.0 14.6 15.1 15.5 16.2 
Bangladesh  1.1 2.5 7.4 7.0 9.8 9.4 9.7 10.4 14.8 
Bhutan  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 
Brunei 
Darussalam  0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 
Cambodia  0.2 0.2 0.3 1.1 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.8 2.1 
China  10.2 24.9 66.3 103.0  113.7  122.6  132.3  156.7  204.1  
Chinese Taipei  5.3 7.3 10.2 11.5 12.3 12.6 12.6 12.4 14.8 
Cook I slands  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 
Fiji 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 
French 
Polynesia  0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Hong Kong, 
China  8.2 8.4 16.9 24.4 25.1 26.0 24.4 22.2 23.6 
India 3.4 5.7 13.6 24.2 27.7 22.1 22.6 22.1 31.3 
Indonesia  4.2 5.3 13.0 17.4 19.0 21.6 20.0 19.3 24.4 
Japan  35.2 42.8 53.3 53.4 56.7 59.6 60.1 58.4 64.0 
Kiribati  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Korea , Rep. of  8.3 11.0 18.1 23.9 25.3 27.6 27.7 28.4 34.7 
Lao People's 
Dem. Rep.  0.1 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.0 
Macao, China  0.3 0.5 0.9 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.9 1.6 2.0 
Malaysia  3.8 5.7 12.6 14.5 15.3 16.2 15.6 16.6 20.7 
Maldives  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.6 
Mongolia  0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.0 
Myanmar  0.2 0.4 0.4 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.6 
Nepal  0.1 0.2 0.7 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.2 3.4 
New Caledonia  0.1 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 34 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
New Zealand  1.1 2.0 3.3 4.2 4.7 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.7 
Pakistan  1.2 3.2 5.8 6.7 7.8 7.3 6.3 8.4 11.4 
Papua New 
Guinea  0.1 0.2 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 
Philippines  2.8 3.5 6.7 10.2 11.4 13.0 14.1 13.2 16.5 
Samoa  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Singapore  4.0 5.0 9.6 11.6 12.5 12.9 12.8 13.1 15.5 
Solomon 
Islands  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Sri Lanka  0.7 1.0 1.8 2.2 2.6 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.8 
Thailand  3.0 4.4 7.9 11.5 11.8 12.5 11.9 13.4 15.8 
Timor -Leste  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 
Tonga  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Vanuatu  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Viet Nam  1.2 2.4 7.9 16.5 18.7 20.8 20.8 21.5 29.6 
Asia total  98.8 144.4  270.6  367.7  403.6  421.1  428.6  454.3  563.8  
Armenia  0.2 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 
Azerbaijan  0.2 0.4 1.2 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.9 2.2 
Belarus  1.0 1.6 2.6 3.7 4.2 4.0 4.2 3.8 4.0 
Georgia  0.2 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 
Kazakhstan  0.5 1.3 2.3 3.0 3.4 3.6 3.8 3.9 4.9 
Kyrgyz  
Republic  0.1 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.8 
Russian 
Federation  8.8 15.6 31.9 24.8 28.6 28.1 28.4 27.6 31.4 
Tajikistan  0.1 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 1.0 
Turkmenistan  0.1 0.1 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 
CIS total  11.3 20.2 40.9 36.3 41.6 41.2 42.2 41.0 46.9 
Albania  0.3 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.2 
Andorra  0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Austria  0.8 1.3 1.8 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.2 
Belgium  4.1 6.5 5.1 4.8 4.9 5.2 4.8 4.5 5.3 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  0.7 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.7 2.0 
Bulgaria  0.2 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.3 
Croatia  0.2 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 
Cyprus  0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 
Czech  
Republic  0.6 0.9 1.2 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.9 
Denmark  1.3 1.8 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.5 
Estonia  0.3 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 
Faroe Is lands  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Finland  0.6 0.8 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 
France  7.3 10.4 14.2 16.7 17.0 17.4 17.0 14.1 16.4 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 35 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Germany  12.0 17.5 26.7 28.2 29.3 30.3 28.4 29.0 31.7 
Greece  0.8 1.4 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 4.0 
Greenland  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 
Hungary  0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 
Iceland  0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 
Ireland  2.5 3.9 4.9 5.6 6.2 7.1 6.8 7.0 6.6 
Italy 6.5 8.9 11.6 12.4 12.6 12.8 12.8 13.1 15.2 
Latvia  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 
Lithuania  0.2 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 
Luxembourg  0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 
Malta  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 
Moldova , 
Republic of 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 
Montenegro  0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 
Netherlands  8.9 12.4 21.1 25.9 28.2 29.5 29.4 30.6 34.1 
North 
Macedonia  0.2 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.1 
Norway  1.9 3.4 5.5 6.7 7.4 7.5 7.4 8.1 9.7 
Poland  1.2 2.2 3.9 4.8 5.3 6.1 6.1 6.9 7.7 
Portugal  1.3 1.6 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.4 
Romania  0.6 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.9 
Serbia  0.0 0.0 1.0 1.4 1.6 1.9 2.0 2.3 2.7 
Serbia and 
Montenegro  0.6 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Slovak  
Republic  0.2 0.5 1.4 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.3 
Slovenia  0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 
Spain  5.4 8.7 11.3 13.0 14.5 15.5 14.8 14.8 17.8 
Sweden  0.9 1.5 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.7 
Switzerland  4.9 7.3 10.7 11.6 12.1 12.6 12.4 13.4 15.1 
Türkiye  2.4 4.8 9.7 13.8 16.1 15.9 16.2 16.8 20.3 
Ukraine  1.1 2.5 5.2 3.5 3.8 4.5 5.1 5.7 6.7 
United 
Kingdom  29.1 46.2 56.4 58.2 60.7 64.1 62.3 63.7 64.1 
Europe total  99.0 152.5  211.8  231.6  246.5  259.5  253.7  258.9  286.9  
Bahrain , 
Kingdom of  0.3 0.6 1.2 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.6 
Iran 2.6 3.2 8.6 9.0 10.7 10.9 11.5 6.6 8.2 
Israel  1.9 2.4 4.2 5.2 5.6 6.0 6.2 6.6 8.2 
Jordan  0.8 1.4 2.4 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.7 4.0 4.5 
Kuwait , the 
State of 0.9 1.7 3.4 4.5 4.9 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.1 
Leban ese 
Republic  1.2 1.4 2.8 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.2 2.3 
Oman  1.3 1.1 2.4 3.6 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.5 5.1 
Qatar  0.4 0.7 2.0 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.0 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 36 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Saudi Arabia , 
Kingdom of  4.5 8.5 16.4 22.0 21.4 19.4 19.7 20.3 23.0 
State of 
Palestine  0.0 0.0 0.9 1.5 1.6 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.5 
Syrian Arab 
Republic  2.3 1.4 3.7 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.1 
United Arab 
Emirates  3.1 5.5 11.1 15.6 17.8 17.5 17.6 16.6 18.3 
Yemen  0.8 1.5 2.8 2.6 2.8 1.3 1.8 4.0 4.4 
Middle East 
total  20.3 29.5 61.9 77.9 82.3 80.5 81.9 79.1 88.2 
Bermuda  0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Canada  12.3 17.2 27.4 33.8 34.9 36.0 36.3 37.2 42.1 
Mexico  11.1 14.6 21.1 24.7 25.9 27.5 27.9 26.4 35.8 
United States  43.1 66.3 89.3 126.9  133.7  142.4  145.9  150.5  176.5  
North 
America 
total  66.6 98.3 137.9  185.6  194.7  206.0  210.3  214.4  254.6  
Antigua and 
Barbuda  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Argentina  1.3 0.9 1.6 2.2 2.9 4.6 3.3 3.8 4.9 
Aruba  0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 
Bahamas  0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.5 
Barbados  0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 
Belize  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Bolivia , 
Plurinational 
State of  0.3 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 
Brazil  3.5 3.5 8.7 10.7 10.8 10.7 10.6 10.8 12.6 
Chile 1.2 2.1 4.2 5.7 6.5 7.1 7.0 7.4 10.5 
Colombia  1.6 1.9 4.0 5.8 5.8 6.4 6.5 6.5 8.3 
Costa Rica  0.5 0.6 1.3 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.4 
Cuba 0.8 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.3 1.3 
Dominica  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Dominican 
Rep. 0.6 1.1 2.0 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.2 4.2 
Ecuador  0.5 0.8 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.4 3.2 
El Salvador  1.8 1.0 1.5 1.9 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.8 
Grenada  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Guatemala  0.8 1.2 1.9 2.6 2.7 2.9 3.2 3.3 4.2 
Guyana  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 
Honduras  0.5 0.7 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.7 2.3 
Jamaica  0.5 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.2 
Montserrat  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Neth. Antilles  0.2 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Nicaragua  0.3 0.3 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.4 
Panama  0.4 0.5 1.3 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.4 
Paraguay  0.3 0.3 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.1 WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 37 - 
 
  Reporter  2001  2005  2010  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Peru 1.0 1.5 3.2 4.3 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.1 6.6 
Saint Kitts and 
Nevis  0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Saint Lucia  0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.9 
Saint Vincent 
and the 
Grenadines  0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Suriname  0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
Trinidad and 
Tobago  0.4 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 
Turks and 
Caicos Is lands  0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 
Uruguay  0.4 0.4 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.5 
Venezuela , 
Bolivarian 
Rep. of  1.9 2.2 5.0 3.0 2.4 2.5 1.6 2.0 2.5 
South and 
Central 
America 
(incl. the 
Caribbean) 
total  20.1 23.8 45.9 56.0 58.7 63.3 61.3 62.2 79.4 
Source:  WTO Secretariat, based on data from Comtrade and Trade Data Monitor.   
  WT/INF/224/Rev.3  
 
- 38 - Table 5: Commodity price development for selected products, 2000 -2021 
(Index 2000 = 100 ) 
 Index 2000  = 100  Average 
annual 
percentage 
change 
(%) 
 2000  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2015  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  2000 -2021  
Barley  100 123 151 223 260 166 205 157 126 163 166 126 … … 
Beef 100 142 138 140 168 142 178 237 228 218 247 242 280 5.0 
Cocoa  100 170 176 216 285 319 346 346 224 253 258 262 268 4.8 
Coconut oil  100 137 135 204 272 161 250 245 367 221 163 224 363 6.3 
Coffee, Robusta  100 122 163 209 254 180 190 213 244 205 178 166 217 3.8 
Cotton, A Index  100 93 97 107 121 106 175 119 142 155 132 122 171 2.6 
Maize  100 111 138 185 252 187 210 192 175 186 192 187 293 5.3 
Meat, chicken  100 124 116 132 142 144 144 152 162 171 152 124 172 2.6 
Palm oil  100 145 164 263 336 239 301 214 242 206 194 242 364 6.4 
Rice, Thai 5%  100 141 151 161 321 274 242 191 197 208 207 245 226 4.0 
Soybeans  100 130 127 181 246 200 211 185 186 186 174 192 275 4.9 
Sugar, world  100 121 181 123 156 222 260 164 196 153 155 157 216 3.7 
Tobacco, US import u.v.  100 94 100 111 121 142 146 165 155 163 154 146 140 1.6 
Wheat, US SRW  100 137 161 241 275 188 232 209 180 206 214 230 285 5.1 
… Data not available.  
Source:  World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet).  
 
 
__________  