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Top Sand Exporters by Country

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Gobi Desert in northern China (courtesy of Pixabay.com)

Natural sand exports from all countries totaled US$2.4 billion in 2025.

That dollar amount results from an average 40.8% increase over the five-year period starting in 2021 when globally exported sand was worth $1.7 billion.

Year over year, the value of exported natural sands fell by -4.3% compared to $2.5 billion during 2024.

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 2025, the world’s top 5 sand exporters are the United States of America, Cambodia, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Together, these 5 main exporters of sand were responsible for about two-thirds (66.1%) 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 2025 with shipments valued at $918.9 million or 38.3% of the global total. In second place were exporters located in North America generating 30% worth of sales.

Another 28.4% of worldwide sand shipments originated from sellers in Asia.

Smaller percentages came from Africa (2%), Latin America (0.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.5%) mosty Australia.

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.

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of sand during 2025.

United States: US$674.3 million (28.1% of total sand exports)
Cambodia: $341.8 million (14.2%)
Netherlands: $287.8 million (12%)
Germany: $172.1 million (7.2%)
Belgium: $109.1 million (4.5%)
Malaysia: $83.1 million (3.5%)
Saudi Arabia: $74.1 million (3.1%)
France: $63 million (2.6%)
Indonesia: $54.8 million (2.3%)
Portugal: $47 million (2%)
Taiwan: $43.7 million (1.8%)
Spain: $41.3 million (1.7%)
Vietnam: $36.5 million (1.5%)
Canada: $27.7 million (1.2%)
Denmark: $26.8 million (1.1%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86.8% of the world’s sand exported in 2025.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing sand exporters year over year were: Cambodia (up 56.8%), Spain (up 52.8%), Vietnam (up 48%) and Saudi Arabia (up 37.1%).

The two countries that posted declines in their exported sand sales were the United States of America (down -25.8% from 2024) and Belgium (down -2.6%).

Below is an automated listing of the 100 key suppliers of sand on international markets. Collectively, they represent 99.99% of the value of exported sand in 2025.

RankExporterSand Exports2024-5

1	United States	$674,297,000	-25.8%
2	Cambodia	$341,784,000	+56.8%
3	Netherlands	$287,789,000	+16.2%
4	Germany	$172,063,000	+3.2%
5	Belgium	$109,086,000	-2.6%
6	Malaysia	$83,140,000	+30%
7	Saudi Arabia	$74,073,000	+37.1%
8	France	$62,971,000	+1.7%
9	Indonesia	$54,820,000	+4.5%
10	Portugal	$46,982,000	+28.4%
11	Taiwan	$43,655,000	+9.8%
12	Spain	$41,299,000	+52.8%
13	Vietnam	$36,488,000	+48%
14	Canada	$27,677,000	+24.6%
15	Denmark	$26,787,000	+4.6%
16	Poland	$23,270,000	-1.2%
17	United Kingdom	$22,242,000	+35.4%
18	Mexico	$18,006,000	-25.8%
19	Czech Republic	$17,367,000	+20.1%
20	Mauritania	$17,182,000	+34.7%
21	Bulgaria	$16,893,000	+8.8%
22	Sweden	$15,856,000	+45.4%
23	Tunisia	$15,595,000	+1774%
24	Russia	$13,701,000	+6.3%
25	Italy	$12,204,000	+1.2%
26	Australia	$11,728,000	+8.2%
27	mainland China	$11,472,000	-27.8%
28	Türkiye	$9,786,000	+36.8%
29	Hungary	$7,353,000	+9.4%
30	Austria	$7,055,000	-0.4%
31	Pakistan	$6,871,000	+0.3%
32	Guyana	$6,582,000	-13.1%
33	Ireland	$5,815,000	-13.3%
34	Slovakia	$5,782,000	-9.9%
35	Egypt	$5,125,000	-83.2%
36	Serbia	$5,039,000	-24.4%
37	South Africa	$4,537,000	-54.1%
38	South Korea	$4,065,000	+40.9%
39	Kazakhstan	$3,418,000	+13.4%
40	Norway	$3,227,000	-36.5%
41	Bahamas	$2,810,000	+537.2%
42	Slovenia	$2,633,000	+20.8%
43	Georgia	$2,433,000	+188.6%
44	Lithuania	$2,328,000	+8%
45	Mozambique	$2,231,000	-97.9%
46	Laos	$1,889,000	+6.8%
47	Ukraine	$1,457,000	+205.5%
48	Latvia	$1,394,000	+114.5%
49	Colombia	$1,265,000	-25.2%
50	United Arab Emirates	$1,256,000	-59.5%
51	Greece	$1,253,000	+16.3%
52	Argentina	$1,166,000	+374%
53	Bosnia/Herzegovina	$1,141,000	+3.5%
54	Guatemala	$1,129,000	0%
55	Romania	$1,125,000	+3.7%
56	Brazil	$1,072,000	-32.4%
57	Jordan	$1,068,000	-68%
58	Dominican Republic	$1,045,000	+35.2%
59	Philippines	$1,029,000	-55.3%
60	Finland	$1,028,000	+39.3%
61	Switzerland	$1,008,000	+52.3%
62	Peru	$972,000	+24.1%
63	Myanmar	$969,000	0%
64	Japan	$928,000	-42.1%
65	Kenya	$902,000	+80.4%
66	Zimbabwe	$888,000	0%
67	Montserrat	$804,000	-83.7%
68	Morocco	$804,000	+20.5%
69	Israel	$777,000	+31%
70	Costa Rica	$749,000	+4.5%
71	Faroe Islands	$715,000	+44.7%
72	Luxembourg	$701,000	-9.8%
73	Singapore	$626,000	-17.1%
74	Croatia	$535,000	+91.1%
75	Iceland	$439,000	+112.1%
76	Sri Lanka	$436,000	+7167%
77	Chile	$366,000	-56.3%
78	Zambia	$285,000	+95.2%
79	Estonia	$244,000	-7.9%
80	Fiji	$232,000	-26.1%
81	Iran	$193,000	-67.3%
82	Dominica	$178,000	-22.3%
83	New Zealand	$174,000	-34.1%
84	North Macedonia	$124,000	-18.4%
85	Uzbekistan	$119,000	-42.5%
86	Hong Kong	$106,000	-97%
87	India	$72,000	-11.1%
88	Panama	$53,000	+43.2%
89	Thailand	$52,000	-49%
90	Rwanda	$48,000	-84.9%
91	Ghana	$41,000	-96.9%
92	Gabon	$28,000	+75%
93	Honduras	$27,000	0%
94	Trinidad/Tobago	$22,000	+83.3%
95	Namibia	$18,000	-62.5%
96	Cuba	$16,000	-98.8%
97	Democratic Republic Congo	$15,000	-67.4%
98	Senegal	$15,000	-99.7%
99	Uruguay	$15,000	-68.1%
100	Qatar	$14,000	+16.7%

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: Sri Lanka (up 7,167% from 2024), Tunisia (up 1,774%), Bahamas (up 537.2%), Argentina (up 374%) and Ukraine (up 205.5%).

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 2024 was not available.

Countries Generating Largest Trade Surpluses from Sand

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sand during 2025. 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$581.1 million (net export surplus down -30% since 2024)
Cambodia: $339.3 million (up 57.4%)
Netherlands: $134.3 million (up 23.3%)
Saudi Arabia: $67.1 million (up 54.8%)
Germany: $64.8 million (down -13.6%)
Malaysia: $53.8 million (up 89.6%)
Indonesia: $49.2 million (up 2.1%)
Portugal: $31.4 million (up 5.8%)
France: $21.7 million (up 18.3%)
Denmark: $19.9 million (down -3.6%)
Mauritania: $16.6 million (up 38.8%)
Tunisia: $14.7 million (reversing a -$778,000 deficit)
Bulgaria: $14 million (up 6.1%)
Spain: $12.6 million (up 420133.3%)
Russia: $11.5 million (up 0.6%)

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 2025. 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.

Singapore: -US$431.1 million (net export surplus up 38.6% since 2024)
Vietnam: -$309.6 million (up 109.4%)
mainland China: -$181.6 million (down -33.9%)
Canada: -$164.9 million (down -38.6%)
Japan: -$69.3 million (down -1.7%)
Italy: -$67.2 million (up 1.5%)
Türkiye: -$63 million (up 18.5%)
Switzerland: -$54.7 million (up 9.9%)
Mexico: -$53.3 million (up 31.4%)
Belgium: -$52.3 million (up 15%)
United Arab Emirates: -$45.4 million (down -59.9%)
South Korea: -$44.1 million (down -4.1%)
Taiwan: -$34.3 million (down -32.7%)
United Kingdom: -$28 million (up 11.5%)
Philippines: -$24 million (up 15.9%)

As was the case in 2024, Singaore incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of sand during 2025. 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 Singapore but also mainland China and Canada.

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.