Year over year, the overall value of the world’s exported gravel fell by -14.1% compared to $3.11 billion during 2022.
A loose aggregation of rock fragments, gravel is a key ingredient for surfacing roadways particularly for roads in rural areas with relatively less traffic. Gravel is classified by size of its granules.
In addition, gravel is combined with sand for mixing with asphalt and for producing other construction materials including concrete blocks, bricks and pipes as construction filler. Other uses include making roofing shingles, supporting water filtration and for providing traction on icy roads during winter. Gravel can also be added with industrial sand to produce glass.
The top 5 most lucrative exporters of gravel are Norway, mainland China, Germany, France and Belgium. Collectively, that quintet of international gravel suppliers generated around two-fifths (40.5%) of total revenues from globally exported gravel in 2023.
Among continents, European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported gravel during 2023 with shipments valued at $1.68 billion or 63% of the world’s total. In second place were exporters located in Asia at 23.9% while another 8.5% of worldwide gravel shipments originated from providers in North America.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Latin America (4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.4%), then Oceania (0.2%) led by New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2517 for pebbles, gravel and broken or crushed stone gravel.
Top Gravel Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of gravel during 2023.
- Norway: US$267.4 million (10% of total gravel exports)
- mainland China: $266.4 million (10%)
- Germany: $244.6 million (9.1%)
- France: $152.9 million (5.7%)
- Belgium: $151.8 million (5.7%)
- Austria: $128.1 million (4.8%)
- Canada: $125.5 million (4.7%)
- Netherlands: $112.9 million (4.2%)
- Croatia: $81.5 million (3%)
- United Kingdom: $75.5 million (2.8%)
- India: $75.5 million (2.8%)
- Italy: $74.1 million (2.8%)
- Spain: $66.8 million (2.5%)
- Vietnam: $62.6 million (2.3%)
- Slovenia: $57.6 million (2.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 72.7% of globally exported gravel in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of gravel since 2022 were: Spain (up 46.6%), Netherlands (up 20.8%), Canada (up 20.2%) and Belgium (up 15.5%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of gravel were led by: Vietnam (down -45.7% from 2022), India (down -13.3%), United Kingdom (down -8.6%), mainland China (down -7.8%) and Norway (down -4.8%).
Searchable List of Gravel Exporting Countries in 2023
The following automated database showcases 100 key gravel exporters by country which accounted for 99.97% of the overall value of globally exported gravel in 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Gravel Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Norway | $267,373,000 | -4.8% |
| 2. | mainland China | $266,399,000 | -7.8% |
| 3. | Germany | $244,628,000 | +9.8% |
| 4. | France | $152,853,000 | +6% |
| 5. | Belgium | $151,805,000 | +15.5% |
| 6. | Austria | $128,146,000 | +5.7% |
| 7. | Canada | $125,521,000 | +20.2% |
| 8. | Netherlands | $112,862,000 | +20.8% |
| 9. | Croatia | $81,487,000 | -0.1% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $75,499,000 | -8.6% |
| 11. | India | $75,489,000 | -13.3% |
| 12. | Italy | $74,125,000 | +6.6% |
| 13. | Spain | $66,767,000 | +46.6% |
| 14. | Vietnam | $62,558,000 | -45.7% |
| 15. | Slovenia | $57,590,000 | -4.6% |
| 16. | Indonesia | $55,183,000 | +4.2% |
| 17. | United States | $51,295,000 | -12.4% |
| 18. | Mexico | $50,778,000 | -1.5% |
| 19. | United Arab Emirates | $47,114,000 | -83.3% |
| 20. | Malaysia | $43,690,000 | +58.6% |
| 21. | Honduras | $39,056,000 | 0% |
| 22. | Czech Republic | $34,972,000 | +13.4% |
| 23. | Türkiye | $28,946,000 | +4.5% |
| 24. | Hungary | $25,991,000 | +26% |
| 25. | Denmark | $24,224,000 | +8.8% |
| 26. | Poland | $23,321,000 | +13.7% |
| 27. | Finland | $22,584,000 | -6.8% |
| 28. | Bhutan | $20,242,000 | +25.1% |
| 29. | Suriname | $15,375,000 | +747.6% |
| 30. | Colombia | $13,782,000 | +33.2% |
| 31. | Greece | $13,766,000 | -2.1% |
| 32. | Sweden | $12,852,000 | -2.5% |
| 33. | Iceland | $12,613,000 | -5.7% |
| 34. | Romania | $12,494,000 | +8.2% |
| 35. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $11,004,000 | -3.4% |
| 36. | Slovakia | $10,957,000 | +12.5% |
| 37. | Laos | $10,818,000 | -10.3% |
| 38. | Russia | $9,967,000 | +24% |
| 39. | Thailand | $9,056,000 | -57.9% |
| 40. | Ireland | $8,535,000 | -15.7% |
| 41. | Jamaica | $8,065,000 | +129.4% |
| 42. | Saint Lucia | $8,039,000 | +18.7% |
| 43. | Ukraine | $7,776,000 | +32.8% |
| 44. | Serbia | $6,666,000 | +18.8% |
| 45. | Kazakhstan | $5,766,000 | +3.9% |
| 46. | South Korea | $5,317,000 | +39.7% |
| 47. | Portugal | $5,273,000 | +6% |
| 48. | Barbados | $5,261,000 | +725.9% |
| 49. | Estonia | $4,683,000 | -43.4% |
| 50. | Lithuania | $4,356,000 | -53.7% |
| 51. | North Macedonia | $4,104,000 | +1.3% |
| 52. | New Zealand | $4,091,000 | -21.6% |
| 53. | Switzerland | $4,027,000 | +7.6% |
| 54. | Belarus | $3,199,000 | -29.7% |
| 55. | Costa Rica | $2,902,000 | +335.1% |
| 56. | Bulgaria | $2,851,000 | -17.1% |
| 57. | Peru | $2,791,000 | +9.5% |
| 58. | Senegal | $2,735,000 | -13.3% |
| 59. | Brazil | $2,450,000 | +249% |
| 60. | Bahamas | $2,313,000 | -14.7% |
| 61. | Latvia | $2,029,000 | -17.4% |
| 62. | Dominican Republic | $1,760,000 | -43.8% |
| 63. | Japan | $1,581,000 | +4.8% |
| 64. | Namibia | $1,505,000 | -32.3% |
| 65. | Uzbekistan | $1,472,000 | -76.3% |
| 66. | Tunisia | $1,458,000 | +43.4% |
| 67. | Guatemala | $1,252,000 | -27.9% |
| 68. | Egypt | $1,243,000 | +32.2% |
| 69. | South Africa | $1,114,000 | +24.2% |
| 70. | Bangladesh | $1,114,000 | +415.7% |
| 71. | Argentina | $1,092,000 | +135.3% |
| 72. | Oman | $1,044,000 | -99.4% |
| 73. | Guinea | $944,000 | -11.5% |
| 74. | Pakistan | $875,000 | +365.4% |
| 75. | Albania | $869,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Luxembourg | $854,000 | -12.8% |
| 77. | Philippines | $729,000 | +6.7% |
| 78. | Greenland | $637,000 | +14.6% |
| 79. | Montenegro | $595,000 | -14% |
| 80. | Taiwan | $589,000 | -10.6% |
| 81. | Jordan | $540,000 | -37.4% |
| 82. | Djibouti | $432,000 | +46.4% |
| 83. | Fiji | $431,000 | -12.9% |
| 84. | Montserrat | $387,000 | -59.8% |
| 85. | Venezuela | $363,000 | 0% |
| 86. | Australia | $349,000 | +22% |
| 87. | Hong Kong | $346,000 | +981.3% |
| 88. | Zambia | $304,000 | -3.8% |
| 89. | Saint Kitts/Nevis | $303,000 | +244.3% |
| 90. | Kenya | $289,000 | +15.1% |
| 91. | Singapore | $267,000 | +2.7% |
| 92. | Andorra | $266,000 | +14.7% |
| 93. | Paraguay | $262,000 | -61.6% |
| 94. | Haiti | $252,000 | -67.1% |
| 95. | Kyrgyzstan | $251,000 | +709.7% |
| 96. | Curaçao | $238,000 | +49.7% |
| 97. | Georgia | $225,000 | -44.6% |
| 98. | Morocco | $174,000 | -16.7% |
| 99. | Iran, | $158,000 | -99% |
| 100. | Ivory Coast | $148,000 | +111.4% |
Focusing on the 100 major suppliers, the fastest growers were Hong Kong (up 981.3% from 2022), Suriname (up 747.6%), Barbados (up 725.9%), Kyrgyzstan (up 709.7%) and Bangladesh (up 415.7%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2023 data was unavailable.
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Gravel
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for gravel during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported gravel and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Norway: US$264.8 million (net export surplus down -4.6% since 2022)
- mainland China: $257.5 million (down -7.5%)
- Canada: $88.7 million (up 41%)
- India: $63.5 million (down -21.9%)
- Vietnam: $60.8 million (down -45.9%)
- Croatia: $60.3 million (down -3.2%)
- Spain: $59 million (up 55%)
- Austria: $50.7 million (up 10.1%)
- Indonesia: $47.5 million (down -3.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: $43.8 million (down -83.1%)
- Malaysia: $39.6 million (up 69.7%)
- Honduras: $39 million (2022 data unavailable)
- Italy: $35.3 million (up 9.5%)
- Mexico: $32.5 million (down -28.1%)
- Slovenia: $31.3 million (down -11.9%)
Norway and mainland China garnered the highest surpluses in the international trade of gravel. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm both countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Trade Deficits from Gravel
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for gravel during 2023. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported gravel purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$271.4 million (net export deficit up 45.3% since 2022)
- Singapore: -$252.6 million (up 4.3%)
- Hong Kong: -$204.4 million (down -10.1%)
- Netherlands: -$179.7 million (down -11.8%)
- Switzerland: -$133.6 million (up 1.4%)
- Poland: -$80.3 million (up 16.9%)
- Denmark: -$80 million (down -8.5%)
- Taiwan: -$79 million (up 16.9%)
- Bangladesh: -$76.6 million (down -61.1%)
- Luxembourg: -$49.7 million (down -1.8%)
- Maldives: -$48.8 million (up 21.9%)
- Guyana: -$46.8 million (up 255.8%)
- Sweden: -$36.1 million (down -15.6%)
- Ireland: -$29.9 million (up 25.8%)
- Bahrain: -$24.1 million (down -28%)
The United States of America and Singapore incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of gravel. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for gravel-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Gravel Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are selected examples of gravel-trading exporters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- ECO World FZE (United Arab Emirates)
- Canada Trading & Contracting Inc (Canada)
- Shijiazhuang Mining Imp & Exp Trade Co (China)
- Shri Vinayak Industries (India)
See also Cements Exports by Country, Top Sand Exporters by Country, Sawn Wood Exports by Country and Top Glass and Glassware Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for gravel stone. Accessed on November 7, 2024
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on November 7, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 7, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 7, 2024
Minerals Education Coalition (MEC), Mining & Minerals Information, Minerals Database, Sand and Gravel, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on November 7, 2024
Wikipedia, Gravel. Accessed on November 7, 2024