Food is the most important commodity in the world and the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world understand this fact very well and put a lot of effort into developing technologies to improve their output. In fact, as you will see from the list that we will present later, some of the top agricultural exporters have relatively small areas and managed to achieve high volume of exports through developing technology and investing in workforce education.
Earth’s population is expected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, this will result in an increase in demand for agricultural products by at least 50% compared to 2013. One way to reduce the need for increasing the global food production is through cutting losses and waste. The world is currently producing more than enough food to feed the entire population, yet there are around 1.2 billion people that are underfed. One of the reasons for this is the over-commoditization of food, which allowed financiers to speculate on agricultural futures and raise the prices for food items worldwide. The commoditization of food is due to the lack of regulations and the world governments together with the UN should address this issue by treating food as a human right rather than a commodity.
Food production is facing many issues and if demand is set to increase, these issues must be addressed. One of them is the migration of populations from rural to urban areas. The FAO estimates that 2/3’s of the world population will live in cities by 2050, which will result in fewer people being available to work in agriculture. Climate change is also affecting crop and livestock production. The recent hurricane Irma, which disrupted farming in Florida, is one of the latest examples. In addition, higher food demand might lead to the need for more natural resources like land and water, which would require more deforestation.
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However, all these issues can be addressed through technology and the latest trends are pretty positive. More and more farms, especially in the developed world, use “smart” irrigation systems that analyze the quantity of moisture in the soil and dispense just the exact amount of water automatically. Sensors and drones are widely used to analyze fields and identify the need for fertilization, to identify infestations with weeds and parasites, and even fix these problems automatically, which makes farming less labor intensive. Biotechnology is also helping to improve output through making more efficient crops, thus eliminating the need for more land.
Businesses are also shifting from their traditional business of selling seeds, equipment or chemicals and are focusing on data. They develop platforms that work in the cloud and collect data on crop production and analyze other metrics like weather, weed infestation, and water requirements. This will allow farmers to work more efficiently, while companies will be able to identify some of the more common issues and address them through their products.
Having said that, let’s take a look at the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world and the trends that shape their food production, allowing them to stay at the top. Some of the countries in this list that have more land available for farming are also among the 8 countries that produce the most grain in the world.
11. Argentina
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $37.17 Billion
Argentina ranks 11th on the list of the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world. Agriculture plays a very important role in Argentina’s economy, with approximately 7% of the workforce being employed in the industry. Even though the share of agriculture in the country’s GDP has declined to less than 10% from around 20% in the 1960s, it represents over half of its total exports. The main agricultural products that are exported are Soybean, Wine, Wheat and Corn.
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10. Italy
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $43.76 Billion
Even though Italy’s surface area is slightly more than a 10th of Argentina’s (116,306 square miles), the dollar value of its agricultural exports is significantly higher. One reason for that is the fact that Italy is a member of the European common market, which offers it easy access to many international markets. However, with total exports of $447 billion, the share of agricultural products in Italy is much smaller. Not surprisingly, the most exported agricultural product from Italy is wine, which amasses around 14% of its agricultural exports.
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9. Belgium
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $43.90 Billion
Belgium is next on the list of the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world. Out of the nearly $44 billion in food exports from Belgium, almost $3 billion are chocolate exports. However, despite being one of the top agricultural exporters in the world, just 2% of the country’s population is employed in this sector. The small number of people that work in the agricultural industry is due to the disappearance of small family farms, but at the same time, the introduction of new technologies has allowed an increase in production despite declining acreage.
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8. Spain
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $51.05 Billion
Up next in our list of countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world is Spain that is one of the largest countries in Western Europe and out of 50.5 million hectares of land, around 40% is used for crop production. The country is one of the largest producers of olive oil, wine, and citrus fruits in Europe, as well as other fruits, vegetables and meat. Citrus, wine, Olive oil, and pork represent the main agricultural products that Spain exports. Spain is also one of the largest rice-growing states in the European Union, but the unfavorable conditions and limited water availability pose some challenges for rice cultivation.
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7. Canada
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $56 Billion
Because it has a large surface area and favorable conditions, Canada produces far more agricultural products than it needs to feed its own population. In this way, Canada exports half of the beef that it produces and around 70% of its soybeans and 75% of its wheat. Over 90% of Canadian farmers and 40% of the food processing industry rely on exports. The U.S is the main export destination for Canadian agricultural products, with a share of over 50%, followed by China with 9.2%. Overall, Canada ranks seventh on the list of the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world.
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6. China
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $63.49 Billion
China is the largest exporter in the world, with exports worth $2.40 trillion. This makes its agricultural exports tiny by comparison, though still ranking it sixth among the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world. China is also one of the largest food producers in the world, though its large population and a shortage of farm land mean that it still has to import grain and other land-extensive crops. The main items exported by China are animal products, such as hides, fish, molluscs, and crustaceans.
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5. France
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $74.29 Billion
Agriculture contributes around 3% of France’s GDP and employs under 4% of the labor force. However, France is recognized globally for its agricultural products, especially its wine, which unsurprisingly amass 13% of its food exports. Hard liquor, animal food, raw sugar, and water are other top products exported by France.
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4. Brazil
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $78.82 Billion
With a surface area of 3.29 million square miles, Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world, so it’s not surprising that it is also one of the countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world. The country is taking advantage of the resources and relies heavily on agriculture for economic growth. Among its main exports are coffee, soybeans, corn, raw sugar, and poultry meat, which amass nearly 60% of its total exports.
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3. Germany
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $86.83 Billion
Germany’s total exports amount to roughly $1.25 trillion, so the share of agricultural products is pretty small. In addition, agriculture is a small sector of the German economy. Nevertheless, Germany is the home of BASF, one of the 11 biggest agricultural companies in the world, which produces farming and crop protection products, as well as products for forestry and woodland management. Among the main agricultural products exported by Germany are chocolate, baked goods, and rolled tobacco.
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2. The Netherlands
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $92.85 Billion
We are continuing our list of countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world with the Netherlands that is the sixth-smallest country within the European Union, but it’s the EU’s largest food exporter and the world’s second-largest. Moreover, it relies heavily on agriculture, which represents over 80% of its GDP. The country managed to achieve this due to several factors. First, the country has a lot of flat land and fertile soil and a moderate climate, which creates good farming conditions. In addition, the country has invested a lot of capital in improving farming technology, with many farms using robots and automated processes at all stages, from planting to picking food to processing. The Netherlands is also home to the world’s leading university for agricultural education and it invests in developing innovative technology to improve crop yields. Moreover, the Netherlands also has the port of Rotterdam, which is a major hub and a lot of agricultural products that come from the Netherlands are actually re-exported (around $22 billion).
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1. The United States
Value of Exports (US Dollars): $149.12 Billion
The U.S. is the world’s largest economy and has been the world’s largest food exporter for decades. Some of the top agricultural companies are headquartered in the U.S, such as Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON), the largest seed producer, and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), two of the leading manufacturers of farming equipment. The leading U.S agricultural exports are grains, soybeans, livestock, and horticultural products. The United States’ main export destinations are Canada, China, Mexico, and the European Union. Moreover, the U.S is the leader in agricultural innovation, which also makes it one of the top exporters of agriculture-related technology.
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These are the 11 countries with the highest agricultural exports in the world. Because many of these countries are part of the developed world, they have the resources to invest in innovation and make farming more sustainable in order to satisfy the greater demand of growing populations, without a significant impact on the environment. In addition, countries that rely mainly on natural resources to produce high crops can also make existing farmland more efficient.
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