That quantity reflects a flatlining -0.8% decrease from 187 million tons five years earlier in 2018 and a -7.6% year-over-year decline from 200.7 million tons exported during 2021.
The world’s top exporters of wheat as measured by weight are Australia, Russia, United States of America, France, Canada and Ukraine. Collectively, those 6 leading suppliers of wheat on international markets sold 122.3 million tons of wheat during 2022 or almost two-thirds (65.9%) of globally exported wheat by weight.
Higher volumes of exported wheat loosely correspond with lower average unit prices for wheat when you factor in economies of scale. For instance, 7 of the 10 biggest wheat exporters sold that commodity on international markets at average unit prices lower than the global average price of US$367 per ton calculated for all wheat-shipping countries in 2022.
Top Wheat Export Countries by Shipment Weight
The top 50 exporters of wheat as measured by shipment tonnage are listed below. Based on weight statistics, these key suppliers of wheat on international markets accounted for 99.99% of the world’s wheat exported in 2022.
| Wheat Exporter | Tons | 2021-2 | 2018-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 29,487,688 | +12.7% | +135.6% |
| 2 | Russia | 21,970,463 | -19.7% | -50% |
| 3 | United States | 20,918,772 | -12.9% | -7% |
| 4 | France | 20,164,632 | +25.3% | +6.5% |
| 5 | Canada | 18,548,414 | -13.9% | -18.9% |
| 6 | Ukraine | 11,223,215 | -44.1% | -31.5% |
| 7 | Argentina | 10,161,432 | -11.9% | -13.3% |
| 8 | India | 6,798,598 | +11.6% | +3939% |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | 6,345,841 | +10.4% | +3% |
| 10 | Germany | 6,219,131 | -12.5% | +18.9% |
| 11 | Romania | 5,685,341 | -18.1% | -3.4% |
| 12 | Bulgaria | 4,051,293 | -20.9% | -4.4% |
| 13 | Poland | 3,637,955 | +1.3% | +103.2% |
| 14 | Brazil | 3,072,778 | +172.1% | +1289% |
| 15 | Lithuania | 2,959,198 | -3.3% | +75.1% |
| 16 | Latvia | 2,682,459 | +22.2% | +78.1% |
| 17 | Czech Republic | 2,272,449 | -4.1% | +15.6% |
| 18 | Slovakia | 1,182,368 | +1.8% | +27.6% |
| 19 | United Kingdom | 815,848 | +179.4% | +127.5% |
| 20 | Serbia | 783,648 | -26.8% | -23.8% |
| 21 | Uruguay | 714,974 | +35% | +609.8% |
| 22 | Austria | 648,044 | -12.7% | +2.7% |
| 23 | Croatia | 589,746 | +7.5% | +16.5% |
| 24 | Estonia | 575,113 | +32.6% | +191.1% |
| 25 | Sweden | 570,850 | -5.6% | +36.3% |
| 26 | Denmark | 498,814 | 0% | +1.9% |
| 27 | South Africa | 474,909 | +79.8% | +674.4% |
| 28 | Türkiye | 405,561 | +53% | +482.3% |
| 29 | Belgium | 379,079 | -40.9% | -51.2% |
| 30 | Italy | 338,610 | +59.1% | +81.8% |
| 31 | Paraguay | 317,463 | -5.9% | -15% |
| 32 | Netherlands | 253,080 | +31.1% | -29.5% |
| 33 | Moldova | 198,379 | -77.2% | -59.4% |
| 34 | United Arab Emirates | 134,572 | 0% | +46.2% |
| 35 | Slovenia | 78,712 | -20.8% | -6.9% |
| 36 | Iraq | 72,806 | -92.3% | +279923% |
| 37 | Finland | 50,777 | +41.3% | -14.8% |
| 38 | Vietnam | 36,355 | -26.1% | -26.4% |
| 39 | Syria | 28,057 | -26.7% | +935133% |
| 40 | Ireland | 26,834 | -47% | +32.4% |
| 41 | Senegal | 19,166 | +155.5% | +697.9% |
| 42 | Luxembourg | 15,860 | -31.1% | -51% |
| 43 | Sri Lanka | 15,463 | +79.9% | 0% |
| 44 | Portugal | 14,587 | +259% | -59.1% |
| 45 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | 11,683 | -71.1% | -81.1% |
| 46 | Lebanon | 7,519 | -11% | +32.1% |
| 47 | China | 5,816 | +34.5% | -20.8% |
| 48 | Uzbekistan | 4,724 | -82.4% | -95.6% |
| 49 | Tanzania | 4,000 | +148.4% | +197.2% |
| 50 | Armenia | 3,589 | +51.1% | +39778% |
The fastest growers among the listed exporters of wheat were Portugal (up 259% from 2021), United Kingdom (up 179.4%), Brazil (up 172.1%), Senegal (up 155.5%) and Tanzania (up 148.4%).
Posting the greatest percentage declines in tons of exported wheat from year to year were suppliers in Iraq (down -92.3% from 2021), Uzbekistan (down -82.4%), Moldova (down -77.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (down -71.1%), Ireland (down -47%) and the Ukraine (down -44.1%).
Searchable List of Average Unit Price for Exported Wheat
The world’s average unit price charged per ton of exported wheat was US$367 for 2022, inflated by 66.8% from $220 per ton in 2018 and up by 29.7% compared to a unit price of $283 for 2021.
The automated table below enables you to compare the average unit price for exported wheat for 50 of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat by weight. Amounts shown are in US dollars.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns in the data table below. The right-most columns highlight the change in unit price for each supplier’s globally exported wheat in 2022 compared to 2021 or 5 years earlier in 2018.
A value of 0% in one of those columns means data for that year was unavailable.
| Wheat Exporter | Avg Price | 2021-2 | 2018-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | $345 | +24.5% | +40.2% |
| 2 | Russia | $396 | +48.3% | +106.3% |
| 3 | United States | $407 | +34.8% | +67.5% |
| 4 | France | $366 | +29.3% | +67.9% |
| 5 | Canada | $429 | +39.3% | +71.6% |
| 6 | Ukraine | $239 | -5.5% | +30.6% |
| 7 | Argentina | $307 | +19% | +49% |
| 8 | India | $313 | +10.6% | +13% |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | $303 | +22.2% | +93% |
| 10 | Germany | $356 | +26.7% | +59.6% |
| 11 | Romania | $369 | +40.8% | +77.4% |
| 12 | Bulgaria | $359 | +37.5% | +76% |
| 13 | Poland | $384 | +38.6% | +69.9% |
| 14 | Brazil | $315 | +25% | +72.1% |
| 15 | Lithuania | $345 | +27.3% | +54.7% |
| 16 | Latvia | $355 | +28.6% | +61.4% |
| 17 | Czech Republic | $336 | +36% | +63.1% |
| 18 | Slovakia | $359 | +26% | +59.6% |
| 19 | United Kingdom | $363 | +21.4% | +54.5% |
| 20 | Serbia | $332 | +31.7% | +74.7% |
| 21 | Uruguay | $325 | +25% | +45.7% |
| 22 | Austria | $447 | +29.2% | +48% |
| 23 | Croatia | $357 | +32.7% | +72.5% |
| 24 | Estonia | $358 | +25.2% | +46.7% |
| 25 | Sweden | $356 | +27.1% | +67.9% |
| 26 | Denmark | $325 | 0% | +57% |
| 27 | South Africa | $428 | +19.2% | +33.3% |
| 28 | Türkiye | $430 | +16.5% | +25.4% |
| 29 | Belgium | $418 | +22.6% | +54.8% |
| 30 | Italy | $643 | +39.8% | +79.1% |
| 31 | Paraguay | $341 | +29.2% | +52.2% |
| 32 | Netherlands | $372 | +18.1% | +29.2% |
| 33 | Moldova | $293 | +23.1% | +52.6% |
| 34 | United Arab Emirates | $413 | 0% | +24.4% |
| 35 | Slovenia | $362 | +25.3% | +50.8% |
| 36 | Iraq | $326 | -6.9% | -29.4% |
| 37 | Finland | $413 | +48.6% | +125.7% |
| 38 | Vietnam | $349 | +30.7% | +75.4% |
| 39 | Syria | $535 | +49.4% | -19.8% |
| 40 | Ireland | $347 | +9.1% | +45.8% |
| 41 | Senegal | $481 | +12.9% | +52.7% |
| 42 | Luxembourg | $475 | +49.4% | +80.6% |
| 43 | Sri Lanka | $345 | -9.2% | 0% |
| 44 | Portugal | $406 | +4.4% | +69.9% |
| 45 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $403 | +39.4% | +112.1% |
| 46 | Lebanon | $276 | +94.4% | +6.6% |
| 47 | China | $509 | +10.9% | +18.6% |
| 48 | Uzbekistan | $319 | +33.5% | +67% |
| 49 | Tanzania | $453 | +172.9% | +93.6% |
| 50 | Armenia | $203 | -18.5% | -63.5% |
In 2022, the average unit price specific to the 50 biggest exporters of wheat was $374 per ton. That metric is 1.8% more expensive than the overall world average price of $367 charged by all wheat-shipping countries.
The lowest average unit prices per ton among the top 50 wheat exporters belong to Armenia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Moldova and Kazakhstan. Other low-cost wheat suppliers to global markets include Argentina, India and Brazil.
The fastest growers in average unit price from 2021 to 2022 were Tanzania (up 172.9%), Lebanon (up 94.4%), Syria (up 49.4%), Luxembourg (also up 49.4%), Finland (up 48.6%) then Russia (up 48.3%).
Year over year, there were 4 reductions in average unit price. Those international suppliers were Armenia (down -18.5% from 2021), Sri Lanka (down -9.2%), Iraq (down -6.9%) and the Ukraine (down -5.5%).
Average Unit Price for Top 10 Wheat Exporters by Sales
The list below is sorted in descending order by the 10 major exporters of wheat by dollar sales (rather than shipment tonnage). Showcased is each country’s corresponding average unit price per ton of globally exported wheat in US dollars.
These key suppliers sold almost four-fifths (78.7%) of overall wheat exports by sales in 2022 and are listed in descending rank. The list starts with the biggest exporters of wheat in terms of total dollar sales.
- Australia: US$345 per ton (up 24.5% from 2021)
- Russia: $396 (up 48.3%)
- United States: $407 (up 34.8%)
- Canada: $429 (up 39.3%)
- France: $366 (up 29.3%)
- Argentina: $307 (up 19%)
- Ukraine: $239 (down -5.5%)
- Germany: $356 (up 26.7%)
- India: $313 (up 10.6%)
- Romania: $369 (up 40.8%)
Three among the top 10 wheat suppliers by weight charged a comparatively higher average unit price exceeding, or equal to, the average unit price of $379 per ton specific to the top 50 wheat exporters by value.
That data finding suggests that economies of scale for the world’s 10 biggest exporters of wheat may apply–at least to some degree. That is because for 7 of the top 10 supplier countries, their average unit price is lower than the global benchmark price for the 50 leading wheat exporter countries.
Major Wheat Importing Countries by Quantity
Turning our attention to countries that buy wheat on international markets, the top 10 wheat importers by shipment weight bought almost half (48.1%) of globally imported wheat during 2022.
- China: 9.9 million tons (7% of globally imported wheat)
- Indonesia: 9.5 million tons (6.7%)
- Türkiye: 8.9 million tons (6.3%)
- Italy: 6.9 million tons (4.9%)
- Philippines: 6.2 million tons (4.4%)
- Morocco: 6 million tons (4.2%)
- Brazil: 5.7 million tons (4%)
- Japan: 5.35 million tons (3.8%)
- Iran: 5.29 million tons (3.7%)
- South Korea: 4.4 million tons (3.1%)
Among the listed wheat importers, five increased their purchases of wheat on international markets from 2021 to 2022.
The greatest year-over-year percentage gains in spending were buyers in Morocco (up 28.7% from 2021) and Japan (up 4.3%).
There were two double-digit decliners, specifically wheat importers in Iran (down -25.3% from 2021) and Indonesia (down -17.6%).
See also Wheat Exports by Country (dollar value), Wheat Imports by Country (dollar value), Average Frozen Beef Prices Compared by Top Exporters, Average Rice Prices Compared for Major Rice Export Countries and Average Banana Prices Compared for Major Bananas Export Countries
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for wheat. Accessed on October 29, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 29, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 29, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 29, 2023
Wikipedia, Wheat. Accessed on October 29, 2023