The global value of soft drinks shipped rose by an average 31.7% for all exporting countries compared to 5 years earlier in 2019 when soft drinks sold internationally were valued at $22.1 billion.
Year over year, the global value of exported soft drinks increased by 8.5% compared to $26.9 billion starting from 2022.
The 6 biggest exporters of soft drinks are Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States of America. Together, that powerful cohort of suppliers well over two-fifths (44.9%) of international sales of pertinent beverage commodities in 2023.
An ever-expanding myriad of flavors are quenching the thirst of soft drink enthusiasts around the globe. Consumers continue to indulge in tastes ranging from non-alcoholic beer, bubble gum and plum to curry and teriyaki carbonated drinks.
Drilling down within the overall soft drinks’ category, global export revenues from carbonated soft drinks were worth $15 billion for 2023 (or 51.4% of the overall category total). That dollar amount represents a 52.3% increase for the carbonated subcategory since 2019 and a 11.7% advance from 2022 to 2023.
From a continental perspective, suppliers located in European countries generated the highest international sales for all types of soft drinks during 2023 with shipments valued at $19 billion or almost two-thirds (65.1%) of the worldwide total. In second place were exporters located in Asia at 18% while another 10.9% of globally exported soft drinks originated from North America.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Latin America (2.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.3%), and Oceania (1%) mainly New Zealand and Australia.
For research purposes, the four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2202 for soft drinks. The subcategory code for carbonated soft drinks is 220220.
Top Soft Drinks Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of soft drinks during 2023.
- Austria: US$3.3 billion (11.1% of exported soft drinks)
- Germany: $2.7 billion (9.3%)
- Netherlands: $2.45 billion (8.4%)
- Switzerland: $1.6 billion (5.5%)
- Thailand: $1.55 billion (5.3%)
- United States: $1.52 billion (5.2%)
- Mexico: $1.11 billion (3.8%)
- Belgium: $1.1 billion (3.8%)
- France: $1 billion (3.6%)
- Poland: $915.3 million (3.1%)
- Italy: $875 million (3%)
- United Kingdom: $705.8 million (2.4%)
- South Korea: $684.4 million (2.3%)
- Denmark: $623.9 million (2.1%)
- Spain: $601.5 million (2.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 71.2% of all soft drinks exported in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing soft drinks exporters since 2022 were: Denmark (up 28.5%), Belgium (up 17.5%), France (up 17.4%) and Spain (up 16.4%).
The lone decliner was Switzerland which recorded a -12.4% slowdown from 2022.
Searchable List of Soft Drinks Exporting Countries in 2023
The 100 key exporters of soft drinks showcased in the automated database below represent 99.6% of the total value for globally exported soft drink beverages during 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Soft Drink Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Austria | $3,252,075,000 | +3.2% |
| 2. | Germany | $2,723,774,000 | +16.2% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $2,454,630,000 | +7.4% |
| 4. | Switzerland | $1,596,604,000 | -12.4% |
| 5. | Thailand | $1,551,607,000 | +1.8% |
| 6. | United States | $1,519,545,000 | +12.6% |
| 7. | Mexico | $1,113,712,000 | +14.3% |
| 8. | Belgium | $1,099,504,000 | +17.5% |
| 9. | France | $1,038,748,000 | +17.4% |
| 10. | Poland | $915,272,000 | +10% |
| 11. | Italy | $875,030,000 | +12.9% |
| 12. | United Kingdom | $705,761,000 | +14.1% |
| 13. | South Korea | $684,350,000 | +8.6% |
| 14. | Denmark | $623,853,000 | +28.5% |
| 15. | Spain | $601,507,000 | +16.4% |
| 16. | Canada | $534,816,000 | +20.5% |
| 17. | China | $414,179,000 | +43% |
| 18. | Hungary | $409,468,000 | +20.4% |
| 19. | Japan | $382,981,000 | +3.7% |
| 20. | Czech Republic | $343,340,000 | +22.7% |
| 21. | Malaysia | $312,749,000 | -2.8% |
| 22. | Serbia | $310,786,000 | +21.3% |
| 23. | Türkiye | $288,251,000 | -14.9% |
| 24. | Russia | $243,907,000 | -30% |
| 25. | Portugal | $229,009,000 | +22.8% |
| 26. | Sweden | $227,918,000 | +5.7% |
| 27. | South Africa | $222,330,000 | +34.9% |
| 28. | Romania | $214,186,000 | +31% |
| 29. | Taiwan | $195,607,000 | +5.7% |
| 30. | Guatemala | $190,375,000 | +5.5% |
| 31. | Hong Kong | $185,236,000 | +44.6% |
| 32. | Vietnam | $172,107,000 | -9% |
| 33. | New Zealand | $170,709,000 | +16.3% |
| 34. | Ireland | $167,726,000 | +23.9% |
| 35. | Kazakhstan | $160,238,000 | +59.9% |
| 36. | El Salvador | $159,873,000 | +19.4% |
| 37. | Zambia | $144,623,000 | -3.7% |
| 38. | Slovakia | $132,618,000 | +5% |
| 39. | Australia | $123,406,000 | +0.9% |
| 40. | Croatia | $123,164,000 | +50.4% |
| 41. | Saudi Arabia | $118,274,000 | -42% |
| 42. | Georgia | $108,597,000 | +31.9% |
| 43. | Slovenia | $108,528,000 | +34.1% |
| 44. | Trinidad/Tobago | $105,185,000 | -6.8% |
| 45. | Indonesia | $103,688,000 | +5.7% |
| 46. | Singapore | $99,997,000 | -11.5% |
| 47. | Ukraine | $90,185,000 | +59.5% |
| 48. | Tanzania | $88,080,000 | +36.8% |
| 49. | Greece | $84,239,000 | -1.6% |
| 50. | Lithuania | $81,848,000 | +32.1% |
| 51. | Nepal | $62,530,000 | +1952.9% |
| 52. | India | $60,277,000 | +36.8% |
| 53. | Luxembourg | $60,205,000 | +25.5% |
| 54. | Bulgaria | $57,065,000 | +42.8% |
| 55. | Costa Rica | $56,096,000 | +7.9% |
| 56. | United Arab Emirates | $54,958,000 | -77.7% |
| 57. | Finland | $49,513,000 | +30.3% |
| 58. | Sri Lanka | $41,881,000 | +67.2% |
| 59. | Uganda | $41,485,000 | +22.5% |
| 60. | Latvia | $40,305,000 | +36.5% |
| 61. | North Macedonia | $38,909,000 | +56.6% |
| 62. | Bangladesh | $37,425,000 | -32.2% |
| 63. | Brazil | $36,349,000 | +21.3% |
| 64. | Azerbaijan | $34,722,000 | +155.3% |
| 65. | Jamaica | $34,313,000 | +40.3% |
| 66. | Colombia | $31,340,000 | +20.6% |
| 67. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $27,755,000 | +23.1% |
| 68. | Honduras | $26,951,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Dominican Republic | $26,336,000 | +7.8% |
| 70. | Israel | $24,648,000 | +22.7% |
| 71. | Egypt | $24,376,000 | +210.7% |
| 72. | Ghana | $23,894,000 | -27.2% |
| 73. | Peru | $23,254,000 | +3% |
| 74. | Tunisia | $20,868,000 | +52.9% |
| 75. | Senegal | $19,540,000 | +48.5% |
| 76. | Morocco | $19,373,000 | +4% |
| 77. | Cyprus | $19,193,000 | +20.2% |
| 78. | Estonia | $18,812,000 | +23% |
| 79. | Afghanistan | $17,794,000 | +182.9% |
| 80. | Nicaragua | $17,577,000 | -52.9% |
| 81. | Lebanon | $16,007,000 | -67.7% |
| 82. | Iraq | $15,114,000 | +42.4% |
| 83. | Armenia | $14,397,000 | +62.2% |
| 84. | Algeria | $13,530,000 | +13.4% |
| 85. | Argentina | $13,138,000 | -29.7% |
| 86. | Norway | $12,431,000 | +28.2% |
| 87. | Philippines | $10,252,000 | -5.1% |
| 88. | Kenya | $10,247,000 | -11.4% |
| 89. | Uzbekistan | $9,603,000 | -31.5% |
| 90. | Tajikistan | $9,059,000 | +92.2% |
| 91. | Bahrain | $8,613,000 | +142.1% |
| 92. | Iran | $7,783,000 | -29.5% |
| 93. | Jordan | $7,260,000 | -20.1% |
| 94. | Laos | $6,754,000 | +12.9% |
| 95. | Burkina Faso | $6,561,000 | +157.8% |
| 96. | Albania | $6,464,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Barbados | $6,210,000 | +18% |
| 98. | Togo | $6,174,000 | -47.8% |
| 99. | Kyrgyzstan | $5,737,000 | +6.6% |
| 100. | Panama | $5,309,000 | +9.7% |
Focusing on the 100 suppliers of soft drinks on international markets, the strongest gainers were Nepal (up 1,953% from 2022), Egypt (up 210.7%), Afghanistan (up 182.9%), Burkina Faso (up 157.8%) then Azerbaijan (up 155.3%).
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 data was unavailable.
Countries Generating Largest Trade Surpluses from Soft Drinks
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for soft drinks 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 soft drinks and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Austria: US$2.5 billion (net export surplus up 6.7% since 2022)
- Thailand: $1.5 billion (down -2.1%)
- Netherlands: $1.3 billion (up 26.6%)
- Switzerland: $1.1 billion (down -28.4%)
- Mexico: $943.2 million (up 173.1%)
- Germany: $649.1 million (up 7.7%)
- South Korea: $545.9 million (up 35.7%)
- Poland: $441.7 million (up 104.8%)
- Denmark: $401.5 million (up 34.1%)
- Italy: $395.8 million (up 5.6%)
- Serbia: $218.9 million (up 156%)
- Hungary: $205.5 million (up 389.2%)
- Malaysia: $189.9 million (down -15%)
- Zambia: $141.1 million (up 157.1%)
- Japan: $133 million (up 106.1%)
Austria generated the highest surplus in the international trade of soft drinks. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Austria’s competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Soft Drinks
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for soft drinks 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 soft drinks purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$1.8 billion (net export deficit down -18.9% since 2022)
- United Kingdom: -$1.3 billion (up 122.9%)
- Canada: -$554.7 million (up 1.4%)
- mainland China: -$466.4 million (up 0.5%)
- Vietnam: -$444.6 million (up 1,102%)
- Ireland: -$325.2 million (up 89.4%)
- Norway: -$285.6 million (up 49%)
- Australia: -$276.2 million (up 42.8%)
- Cambodia: -$231.1 million (down -22.8%)
- Singapore: -$228.7 million (up 21.4%)
- Philippines: -$212.6 million (up 143.1%)
- Sweden: -$199.2 million (up 49.4%)
- France: -$186.4 million (down -887.7%)
- Finland: -$182.0 million (up 73.8%)
- Brazil: -$178.5 million (up 144.2%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of soft drinks. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for soft drinks suppliers that help satisfy the powerful demand among American consumers.
Soft Drinks Exporting Companies
Below are global producers that represent established players that dominate the international soft drinks trade. The country that is home to each conglomerate’s headquarters is shown within parenthesis.
- Asahi Soft Drinks (Japan)
- Britvic plc (United Kingdom)
- Cott (Canada)
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group (United States)
- Drinko (Lebanon)
- Faygo Beverages, Inc (United States)
- Fraser and Neave, Limited (Singapore)
- Hamoud Boualem (Algeria)
- Jones Soda (United States)
- PepsiCo Inc (United States)
- Perrier (France)
- Sumal + Compal SA (Portugal)
- The Coca-Cola Company (United States)
- Vitasoy (Hong Kong)
See also Coffee Exports by Country, Tea Imports by Country, Sugar Exports by Country, Natural Honey Exports by Country and Top Milk Exporting Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 11, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Wikipedia, List of soft drink producers. Accessed on October 11, 2024