IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘China – Soap – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In 2020, Chinese exports of soap in different forms increased twofold, reaching 779K tonnes in physical terms or $1.4B in value terms. The U.S. remains the largest importer of soap from China, accounting for 43% of the Chinese exports. Australia and Japan follow the U.S. with a combined 16%-share of total exports. Among the leading importers, the U.S. featured the most intensive growth of soap purchases from China. The average export price for soap from China stood at $1,772 per tonne in 2020.

Chinese Soap Exports

Soap exports from China skyrocketed from 377K tonnes in 2019 to 779K tonnes in 2020. In value terms, soap exports surged from $658M to $1.4B (IndexBox estimates) over this period. Over the past decade, soap exports from China increased more than threefold, from 216K tonnes to 779K tonnes.

The U.S. was the main destination for soap exports from China, with a 43% share of total exports. Moreover, soap exports to the U.S. exceeded the volume sent to the second major destination, Australia, fivefold. Japan ranked third in terms of total exports with a 7.3% share.

Last year, the U.S. featured the most intensive growth rate of soap imports from China. Chinese soap supplies to America rose from 103K tonnes in 2019 to 331K tonnes in 2020. Exports to Australia increased twofold, reaching 67K tonnes in 2020. Over the last year, Japan boosted soap imports from China from 34K tonnes to 57K tonnes.

In value terms, the U.S. ($571M) remains the key foreign market for soap exports from China, comprising 41% of total exports. The second position in the ranking goes to Japan ($113M), with an 8.2% share of total exports. It is followed by Australia, with a 7.9% share.

The average soap export price stood at $1,772 per tonne in 2020, growing by +1.6% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was the Philippines ($2,383 per tonne), while the average price for exports to Chile ($1,170 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable growth rate in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to Japan, while the prices for the other major destinations experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform