That dollar amount reflects an average 29.8% increase over the five-year period starting in 2019 when globally exported sand was worth $1.71 billion.
Year over year, the value of exported natural sands accelerated by 22.4% compared to $1.8 billion during 2022.
Finer than gravel but coarser than silt, sand is material comprised of finely granulated rock and mineral particles. Sand is also defined as a textural class of soil that contains more than 85% sand-sized particles by mass.
Sand has a high variety of uses. Sandy soils are ideal for agricultural crops such as watermelons, peaches and peanuts. Sand is also added to clay in the manufacture of bricks, while silica from sand is a key component of glass. Mixing sand with cement and lime is often used in masonry construction, and sand can be mixed with paint to create a textured finish for walls, ceilings and non-slip floor surfaces.
In 2023, the world’s top 5 sand exporters are the United States of America, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Cambodia. Together, these 5 main exporters of sand were responsible for almost two-thirds (63.1%) of the total value of natural sand shipped onto international markets.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar amount of exported sands during 2023 with shipments valued at $838 million or 37.8% of the global total. In second place were North American exporters generating 36.4% worth of sales while another 17.9% of worldwide sand shipments originated from Asia.
Smaller percentages came from Africa (6.4%), Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.5%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2505 for natural sands of all kinds except gold- and platinum-bearing sands.
Top Sand Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of sand during 2023.
- United States: US$761.1 million (34.3% of total sand exports)
- Netherlands: $272.9 million (12.3%)
- Germany: $166.4 million (7.5%)
- Belgium: $103.9 million (4.7%)
- Cambodia: $97.1 million (4.4%)
- Malaysia: $89.4 million (4%)
- Mozambique: $81.8 million (3.7%)
- France: $61.4 million (2.8%)
- Indonesia: $58.6 million (2.6%)
- Egypt: $45 million (2%)
- Vietnam: $35.4 million (1.6%)
- Portugal: $33.9 million (1.5%)
- Taiwan: $31.9 million (1.4%)
- Canada: $25.8 million (1.2%)
- Poland: $23.6 million (1.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 85.1% of the world’s sand exported in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing sand exporters year over year were: Indonesia (up 298.8%), Vietnam (up 171.6%), Cambodia (up 149.4%) and Egypt (up 58.9%).
Three among the listed countries that posted declines in their exported sand sales were: Taiwan (down -28.4% from 2022), Canada (down -2.6%) and Belgium (down -1.7%).
Searchable List of Sand Exporting Countries in 2023
Below is an automated listing of the 100 key suppliers of sand on international markets. Collectively, they represent 99.96% of the value of exported sand in 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Sand Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $761,095,000 | +33.8% |
| 2. | Netherlands | $272,856,000 | +22.6% |
| 3. | Germany | $166,431,000 | +9.2% |
| 4. | Belgium | $103,860,000 | -1.7% |
| 5. | Cambodia | $97,090,000 | +149.4% |
| 6. | Malaysia | $89,360,000 | +6.5% |
| 7. | Mozambique | $81,844,000 | +31.1% |
| 8. | France | $61,425,000 | +14% |
| 9. | Indonesia | $58,609,000 | +298.8% |
| 10. | Egypt | $45,025,000 | +58.9% |
| 11. | Vietnam | $35,366,000 | +171.6% |
| 12. | Portugal | $33,897,000 | +3.9% |
| 13. | Taiwan | $31,892,000 | -28.4% |
| 14. | Canada | $25,756,000 | -2.6% |
| 15. | Poland | $23,602,000 | +5.4% |
| 16. | Spain | $22,986,000 | +19.1% |
| 17. | Denmark | $21,504,000 | +12.2% |
| 18. | Mexico | $20,377,000 | +4.8% |
| 19. | Bulgaria | $17,942,000 | +4.2% |
| 20. | Saudi Arabia | $14,653,000 | -60.5% |
| 21. | Russia | $14,227,000 | +56.4% |
| 22. | Czech Republic | $14,054,000 | +2% |
| 23. | mainland China | $11,748,000 | -24.2% |
| 24. | Hungary | $11,692,000 | +1.1% |
| 25. | Italy | $11,411,000 | -15.3% |
| 26. | Philippines | $11,279,000 | +256.1% |
| 27. | Jordan | $10,740,000 | +124.8% |
| 28. | United Kingdom | $10,693,000 | -15.4% |
| 29. | Australia | $9,912,000 | +570.6% |
| 30. | Sweden | $9,343,000 | -8.6% |
| 31. | Austria | $8,232,000 | -4.2% |
| 32. | Pakistan | $8,169,000 | +2.1% |
| 33. | Türkiye | $7,381,000 | -3.8% |
| 34. | United Arab Emirates | $7,008,000 | -4.2% |
| 35. | Guyana | $6,986,000 | +39.2% |
| 36. | Ireland | $6,484,000 | -7.8% |
| 37. | Slovakia | $6,257,000 | +17% |
| 38. | Senegal | $5,110,000 | +12.2% |
| 39. | Montserrat | $5,050,000 | -2.8% |
| 40. | Serbia | $4,757,000 | +7.2% |
| 41. | South Africa | $3,562,000 | -58.2% |
| 42. | Norway | $3,542,000 | +26.3% |
| 43. | Jamaica | $3,156,000 | +41.3% |
| 44. | Tunisia | $2,895,000 | -81% |
| 45. | Kazakhstan | $2,633,000 | +25.4% |
| 46. | Slovenia | $2,221,000 | -10.3% |
| 47. | South Korea | $2,149,000 | -31.4% |
| 48. | Japan | $2,122,000 | -16% |
| 49. | Laos | $1,964,000 | -1.1% |
| 50. | Albania | $1,855,000 | 0% |
| 51. | Lithuania | $1,837,000 | -1.2% |
| 52. | Colombia | $1,671,000 | +15.7% |
| 53. | Brazil | $1,662,000 | +6% |
| 54. | Peru | $1,559,000 | +70.4% |
| 55. | Gambia | $1,466,000 | +256.7% |
| 56. | Costa Rica | $1,301,000 | +59.4% |
| 57. | Romania | $1,202,000 | -31.2% |
| 58. | New Zealand | $1,142,000 | +27.6% |
| 59. | India | $964,000 | +407.4% |
| 60. | Finland | $953,000 | -2.1% |
| 61. | Guatemala | $883,000 | +3.8% |
| 62. | Iran | $851,000 | +50.4% |
| 63. | Dominican Republic | $836,000 | +6.6% |
| 64. | Morocco | $731,000 | +16.2% |
| 65. | Greece | $693,000 | +7.8% |
| 66. | Chile | $656,000 | +114.4% |
| 67. | Latvia | $654,000 | -12.2% |
| 68. | Faroe Islands | $629,000 | +206.8% |
| 69. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $622,000 | +15.6% |
| 70. | Switzerland | $610,000 | +18.4% |
| 71. | Georgia | $557,000 | +26.9% |
| 72. | Singapore | $537,000 | -13.1% |
| 73. | Luxembourg | $482,000 | +42.2% |
| 74. | Kenya | $421,000 | -61.1% |
| 75. | Croatia | $412,000 | +59.7% |
| 76. | Zambia | $399,000 | +162.5% |
| 77. | Israel | $332,000 | -59.2% |
| 78. | US Minor Outlying Is | $305,000 | +2673% |
| 79. | Ukraine | $291,000 | -72.2% |
| 80. | Thailand | $289,000 | -42.1% |
| 81. | Tajikistan | $272,000 | +156.6% |
| 82. | Estonia | $170,000 | -11% |
| 83. | Bahrain | $165,000 | +870.6% |
| 84. | Ivory Coast | $159,000 | +2171% |
| 85. | Bahamas | $152,000 | -57.5% |
| 86. | North Macedonia | $141,000 | +29.4% |
| 87. | Argentina | $139,000 | -72.7% |
| 88. | Panama | $135,000 | +462.5% |
| 89. | Kyrgyzstan | $128,000 | -36.3% |
| 90. | Ghana | $87,000 | +50% |
| 91. | Suriname | $82,000 | +7.9% |
| 92. | Samoa | $69,000 | +32.7% |
| 93. | Hong Kong | $65,000 | -87.4% |
| 94. | Saint Lucia | $56,000 | -75.5% |
| 95. | Tanzania | $53,000 | -79% |
| 96. | Nicaragua | $50,000 | +4900% |
| 97. | Uzbekistan | $44,000 | -98% |
| 98. | Fiji | $40,000 | -40.3% |
| 99. | Ecuador | $36,000 | -53.8% |
| 100. | Algeria | $31,000 | +1450% |
Expanding the scope of our analysis to focus on the top 100 sand exporters by dollar value, the fastest gainers were relatively smaller suppliers in: Nicaragua (up 4,900% from 2022), United States Outlying Islands (up 2,673%), Ivory Coast (up 2,171%) and Algeria (up 1,450%).
Countries Generating Largest Trade Surpluses from Sand
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sand 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 sand and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- United States: US$672.6 million (net export surplus up 40.2% since 2022)
- Netherlands: $127.6 million (up 17.1%)
- Cambodia: $96.6 million (up 153.7%)
- Mozambique: $81.2 million (up 31%)
- Germany: $74.6 million (up 15.9%)
- Malaysia: $57.1 million (down -1.7%)
- Indonesia: $54.3 million (up 436.2%)
- Egypt: $44.1 million (up 65.3%)
- Portugal: $25.1 million (up 1.1%)
- France: $15.7 million (up 222.4%)
- Bulgaria: $15.4 million (down -5%)
- Denmark: $13.9 million (down -5.1%)
- Russia: $13.2 million (up 120.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: $11.6 million (down -64.1%)
- Jordan: $10.5 million (up 139.8%)
The United States of America earned the highest surplus in the international trade of sand. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Largest Trade Deficits from Sand
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for sand 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 sand purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- mainland China: -US$345.6 million (net export surplus up 63.5% since 2022)
- Canada: -$248.3 million (up 10.5%)
- Singapore: -$225.6 million (down -25%)
- Italy: -$78.6 million (up 0.6%)
- Japan: -$70.3 million (down -20.7%)
- Vietnam: -$66.8 million (up 162.2%)
- Mexico: -$64.1 million (up 10.5%)
- South Korea: -$55.4 million (down -16.5%)
- Taiwan: -$49.7 million (down -3.9%)
- Belgium: -$49 million (up 7.9%)
- Switzerland: -$45.5 million (up 6.5%)
- Türkiye: -$40.9 million (down -25.4%)
- Thailand: -$35.1 million (down -6.2%)
- United Kingdom: -$29.7 million (down -20.7%)
- Luxembourg: -$23.6 million (up 7.6%)
Mainland China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of sand. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights its competitive disadvantage for this specific product category. Leading deficits also signal opportunities for sand-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand for sands notably from mainland China but also Canada and Singapore.
Sand Exporting Companies
Below are sand stock companies located in the United States that represent established players engaged in the international trade of sand. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- Emerge Energy
- Fairmount Santrol
- Hi-Crush
- US Silica
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are also examples of sand-trading exporters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- BMS Factories (Saudi Arabia)
- Cairo Fresh for Import/Export (Egypt)
- Franzavian Import/Export (Philippines)
- Lingshou County Zhongrun Minerals (China)
- Noebel Ventures LLC (United States)
- Ploma Enterprise Co (Taiwan)
- Qaim Rasoul Import/Expor Co (Cambodia)
- UNELO (France)
- VietGo Company (Vietnam)
- Wamenya Trading (Netherlands)
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2022 was not available.
See also Top Gravel Exporters by Country, Cement Exports by Country, Iron Ore Exports by Country and Top Nickel Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for Sand. Accessed on August 12, 2024
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 12, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 12, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 12, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 12, 2024
Wikipedia, Sand. Accessed on August 12, 2024