Markets

Mānuka Honey: New Zealand’s Sweet Success in the Global Honey Trade

Published

6 months ago

March 9, 2024

Edit Gyenge

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Freny Fernandes

This infographic highlights Mānuka honey and global honey exports

Mānuka Honey and the Global Honey Trade

Did you know that the honey export industry today is worth billions?

Over the past two decades, the demand for this sought-after pantry staple has grown across industries ranging from skincare to medicine.

In this vibrant infographic, Edit Gyenge uses data from resourcetrade.earth to track the exponential growth in the global honey export industry from 2000 to 2020.

The Surge of Honey Money

Despite honey being harvested from beehives since antiquity, honey exports globally were only valued at $442 million in 2000. This number shot up to $2.3 billion in 2020.

Rank	Honey Exporting Country	Value (2020 USD)	Weight (2020 Tonnes)
1	🇳🇿 New Zealand	$333.34M	16,547.36
2	🇨🇳 China	$229.62M	127,132.51
3	🇦🇷 Argentina	$179.58M	72,920.54
4	🇩🇪 Germany	$155.26M	31,287.53
5	🇺🇦 Ukraine	$137.99M	78,983.95
6	🇪🇸 Spain	$109.19M	27,187.59
7	🇧🇷 Brazil	$100.27M	45,733.41
8	🇭🇺 Hungary	$94.85M	21,437.72
9	🇮🇳 India	$87.56M	53,288.02
10	🇻🇳 Vietnam	$71.13M	15,597.46
11	🇲🇽 Mexico	$68.72M	21,101.57
12	🇵🇱 Poland	$58.07M	23,472.43
13	🇷🇴 Romania	$49.99M	13,925.81
14	🇦🇺 Australia	$44.62M	6,287.35
15	🇧🇪 Belgium	$40.48M	10,709.40
16	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	$39.28M	13,373.22
17	🇨🇦 Canada	$35.09M	9,112.48
18	🇺🇾 Uruguay	$31.71M	15,842.94
19	🇫🇷 France	$29.83M	4,342.84
20	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	$27.24M	5,651.56
21	🇹🇷 Turkey	$25.53M	5,695.40
22	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	$25.24M	3,073.50
23	🇮🇹 Italy	$23.67M	3,743.44
24	🇺🇸 United States	$20.77M	6,002.50
25	🇬🇷 Greece	$20.09M	4,256.29
26	🇹🇭 Thailand	$18.38M	7,773.81
27	🇾🇪 Yemen	$17.11M	1,167.04
28	🇳🇱 Netherlands	$15.73M	3,057.09
29	🇨🇺 Cuba	$15.67M	7,452.37
30	🇩🇰 Denmark	$15.11M	3,158.17
31	🇷🇸 Serbia	$15.10M	2,693.89
32	🇵🇹 Portugal	$13.47M	7,293.22
33	🇵🇰 Pakistan	$12.44M	4,975.70
34	🇦🇹 Austria	$11.38M	1,890.84
35	🇲🇩 Moldova	$8.99M	3,416.76
36	🇱🇹 Lithuania	$8.49M	3,126.86
37	🇪🇬 Egypt	$7.78M	1,675.96
38	🇨🇱 Chile	$6.53M	2,075.44
39	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	$5.76M	2,371.64
40	🇷🇺 Russian Federation	$4.74M	2,255.93
41	🇮🇪 Ireland	$4.62M	758.02
42	🇨🇭 Switzerland	$4.07M	406.04
43	🇲🇲 Myanmar	$3.98M	3,160.46
44	🇬🇹 Guatemala	$3.87M	1,414.63
45	🇸🇰 Slovakia	$3.58M	921.78
46	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	$2.99M	715.84
47	🇿🇦 South Africa	$2.87M	753.00
48	🇸🇬 Singapore	$2.85M	542.15
49	🇿🇲 Zambia	$2.79M	951.16
50	🇸🇻 El Salvador	$2.10M	841.85
51	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	$1.95M	451.50
52	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	$1.95M	656.62
53	🇭🇰 China, Hong Kong SAR	$1.93M	484.14
54	🇭🇷 Croatia	$1.91M	401.69
55	🇸🇮 Slovenia	$1.77M	293.55
56	🇴🇲 Oman	$1.75M	454.27
57	🇸🇪 Sweden	$1.44M	227.90
58	🇲🇾 Malaysia	$1.37M	261.76
59	🇯🇵 Japan	$1.16M	118.28
60	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	$1.16M	428.97
61	🇧🇦 Bosnia Herzegovina	$1.08M	87.38
62	🇹🇿 Tanzania	$0.98M	465.90
63	🇱🇻 Latvia	$0.97M	256.66
64	🇰🇼 Kuwait	$0.86M	93.03
65	🇳🇴 Norway	$0.86M	175.08
66	🇮🇷 Iran	$0.86M	357.86
67	🇱🇧 Lebanon	$0.85M	111.91
68	🇮🇩 Indonesia	$0.77M	238.68
69	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	$0.73M	178.98
70	🇪🇪 Estonia	$0.73M	292.60
71	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	$0.64M	132.12
72	🇮🇱 Israel	$0.61M	170.94
73	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	$0.52M	195.46
74	🇰🇪 Kenya	$0.50M	97.58
75	🇧🇾 Belarus	$0.46M	104.69
76	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	$0.38M	178.15
77	🇲🇬 Madagascar	$0.35M	80.65
78	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	$0.31M	28.10
79	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	$0.29M	96.19
80	🇵🇸 State of Palestine	$0.28M	69.73
81	🇯🇴 Jordan	$0.27M	44.21
82	🇸🇩 Sudan	$0.25M	56.45
83	🇬🇪 Georgia	$0.25M	65.61
84	🇲🇦 Morocco	$0.21M	32.90
85	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	$0.19M	26.71
86	🇱🇾 Libya	$0.18M	25.45
87	🇦🇲 Armenia	$0.14M	20.79
88	🇰🇷 Korea, Republic	$0.13M	21.99
89	🇫🇮 Finland	$0.12M	13.29
90	🇸🇾 Syria	$0.11M	38.27
91	🇸🇷 Suriname	$0.10M	37.96
92	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	$0.08M	37.11
93	🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	$0.07M	27.77
94	🇨🇾 Cyprus	$0.06M	12.99
95	🇧🇯 Benin	$0.06M	49.29
96	🇦🇱 Albania	$0.05M	7.10
97	🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam	$0.05M	19.22
98	🇨🇴 Colombia	$0.05M	13.97
99	🇶🇦 Qatar	$0.05M	7.62
100	🇺🇬 Uganda	$0.04M	10.70
101	🇼🇸 Samoa	$0.03M	19.46
102	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	$0.03M	4.24
103	🇯🇲 Jamaica	$0.03M	3.91
104	🇳🇵 Nepal	$0.03M	7.50
105	🇲🇱 Mali	$0.03M	75.58
106	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	$0.03M	7.33
107	🇵🇭 Philippines	$0.03M	4.27
108	🇲🇺 Mauritius	$0.03M	1.99
109	🇧🇼 Botswana	$0.02M	3.86
110	🇲🇿 Mozambique	$0.02M	12.26
111	🇸🇿 Eswatini	$0.02M	2.29
112	🇸🇳 Senegal	$0.02M	22.56
113	🇵🇪 Peru	$0.02M	2.80
114	🇮🇸 Iceland	$0.01M	13.57
115	🇪🇨 Ecuador	$0.01M	1.22
116	🇨🇲 Cameroon	$0.01M	7.01
117	🇧🇭 Bahrain	$0.01M	0.34
118	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	$0.01M	0.30
119	🇲🇴 China, Macao SAR	$0.01M	0.81
120	🇭🇳 Honduras	$0.01M	4.15
121	🇳🇨 New Caledonia	<$0.01M	0.70
122	🇬🇭 Ghana	<$0.01M	0.55
123	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	<$0.01M	1.45
124	🇳🇬 Nigeria	<$0.01M	1.77
125	🇬🇾 Guyana	<$0.01M	1.66
126	🇲🇹 Malta	<$0.01M	0.59
127	🇬🇳 Guinea	<$0.01M	0.29
128	🇵🇳 Pitcairn	<$0.01M	0.09
129	🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	<$0.01M	3.78
130	🇰🇭 Cambodia	<$0.01M	0.58
131	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	<$0.01M	0.07
132	🇨🇨 Cocos Islands	<$0.01M	0.10
133	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	<$0.01M	0.17
134	🇷🇼 Rwanda	<$0.01M	0.28
135	🇬🇩 Grenada	<$0.01M	0.15
136	🇧🇮 Burundi	<$0.01M	0.13
137	🇲🇳 Mongolia	<$0.01M	0.11
138	🇦🇩 Andorra	<$0.01M	0.06
139	🇧🇹 Bhutan	<$0.01M	0.44
140	🇦🇼 Aruba	<$0.01M	0.05
141	🇹🇳 Tunisia	<$0.01M	0.20
142	🇵🇫 French Polynesia	<$0.01M	0.04
143	🇲🇪 Montenegro	<$0.01M	0.07
144	🇱🇸 Lesotho	<$0.01M	0.02
145	🇩🇿 Algeria	<$0.01M	0.01
146	🇧🇲 Bermuda	<$0.01M	0.04
147	🇩🇯 Djibouti	<$0.01M	0.07
148	🇸🇸 South Sudan	<$0.01M	0.44
149	🇵🇦 Panama	<$0.01M	0.01
150	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	<$0.01M	0.05
151	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<$0.01M	0.01
152	🇫🇯 Fiji	<$0.01M	0.01
153	🇹🇩 Chad	<$0.01M	0.04
154	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	<$0.01M	0.05
155	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	<$0.01M	0.01
156	🇸🇴 Somalia	<$0.01M	0.02
157	🇱🇦 Lao PDR	<$0.01M	0.01
158	🇨🇬 Congo, Republic	<$0.01M	0.01
159	🇲🇼 Malawi	<$0.01M	0.03
160	🇨🇩 Congo, Democratic Republic	<$0.01M	0.00
161	🇮🇶 Iraq	<$0.01M	0.00
162	🇵🇾 Paraguay	<$0.01M	0.01
163	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	<$0.01M	0.08
164	🇬🇲 Gambia	<$0.01M	0.00
165	🇳🇦 Namibia	<$0.01M	0.00
166	🇹🇬 Togo	<$0.01M	0.00
167	🇲🇻 Maldives	<$0.01M	0.00

In the span between 2000 and 2020, agricultural powerhouses such as China, Argentina, and Ukraine consistently maintained their position as the top honey producers in the world. These nations exported thousands of tonnes of honey globally.

In fact, China continued to hold the position of the number one honey producer in pure volume terms in 2020.

However, New Zealand’s sought-after and expensive Mānuka honey put it far ahead of China and other countries in export value, despite not being anywhere near the largest exporter by volume.

What is Mānuka Honey?

Mānuka honey is produced by bees that collect nectar from Mānuka trees found only in New Zealand and some parts of Australia.

Known for its unique antibacterial and tissue regeneration properties, Mānuka honey has become highly coveted. In some countries it can sell for up to $400 per kilogram.

In 2020, New Zealand earned over $333 million through its honey exports. Most of this honey was imported by Asian nations including Singapore, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.

A Sticky Future for Honey Trade

The production of honey worldwide relies on the bees and the trees, both of which are under threat as the climate changes.

While floods devastated bee colonies in some parts of the world, bushfires and disease are affecting honeybee habitats in others, posing a major threat to the future of honey production.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Markets

The Top 10 Economies Where Manufacturing is Most Important

On opposite sides of the Atlantic, Ireland and Puerto Rico share a common industry where manufacturing still plays a key role

Published

23 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Pallavi Rao

This graphic ranks the countries by the contribution the manufacturing sector makes to the country’s GDP.

Top 10 Economies Where Manufacturing is Most Important

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

For the world’s top 50 economies, the services sector is the largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

However, manufacturing still plays a significant role for many economies. Here we rank them by the contribution the sector makes to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Data is sourced from the World Bank, as of 2023.

Ranked: Top 10 Economies by Manufacturing Share of GDP

At the top of the list, manufacturing contributes more than 30% to Puerto Rico’s and Ireland’s economies.

Rank	Country	Manufacturing Value to GDP	Top Export (2022)
1	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico*	46%	Pharmaceuticals
2	🇮🇪 Ireland	34%	Pharmaceuticals
3	🇸🇿 Eswatini	28%	Scented Mixtures
4	🇨🇳 China	26%	Broadcasting Equipment
5	🇹🇭 Thailand	25%	Office Machine Parts
6	🇭🇹 Haiti	24%	Apparel
7	🇰🇷 South Korea	24%	Integrated circuits
8	🇻🇳 Vietnam	24%	Broadcasting Equipment
9	🇲🇾 Malaysia	23%	Integrated circuits
10	🇧🇾 Belarus	23%	Fertilizers
N/A	🌍 World	15%	N/A

*Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. Top export sourced from The Observatory of Economic Complexity.

As it happens, pharmaceuticals play a big role in both economies. Puerto Rico became a hub for American manufacturing after a (now-expired) incentive exempted U.S. businesses from paying federal taxes in U.S. territories.

In 2020, the territory accounted for almost one-fifth of the $66 billion in U.S. pharmaceuticals exports.

Meanwhile, Ireland has been home to pharmaceutical companies since the 1960s when they manufactured active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for further use in finished drugs. Now, Ireland is a key vaccine exporter.

Glancing at the inset map in graphic reveals that five of the top 10 countries are found in Asia. Known as the “world’s factory”, China is an obvious find on the list, as is electronics giant South Korea. But newer bases of Asian manufacturing have emerged in the 2010s: Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

For the world economy, manufacturing contributes 15%, a distant second behind the services sector, at 67%.