Garlic exports reach a historic high of 2.25 million tons! Demand from India and Indonesia emerges as a key variable...

In 2025, China's exports of fresh or chilled garlic heads reached a new high of 225.02 million tons, a slight increase from the 223.47 million tons in 2024. From 159.54 million tons in 2009 to 225.02 million tons in 2025, over nearly 16 years, China's garlic exports have grown by an average of 4 million tons annually. However, in 2025, China's garlic exports also showed a distinct feature of "increased quantity, decreased price." In terms of export markets, in 2025, China exported garlic to 150 trading partners worldwide, with the top ten countries by export volume being Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands. As China's largest importer of garlic, Indonesia imported approximately 55.84 million tons in 2025, accounting for 24.82% of China's total annual garlic exports, but this is a decrease of 1.84% compared to the same period last year, with the export value also decreasing by 24.58% to 52670.47 million US dollars. Vietnam and Malaysia, ranked second and third, imported 25.68 million tons and 22.56 million tons respectively in 2025, both showing a slight year-on-year decline. In terms of domestic export provinces and cities, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Henan provinces constitute the core strength of China's garlic exports. Among them, Shandong Province still holds the dominant position, with an export volume of approximately 149.12 million tons in 2025, a slight decrease of 0.81% year-on-year; Jiangsu Province performed well, with an export volume of approximately 33.49 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 23.40%, ranking first among the three provinces and cities; Henan Province's export volume was approximately 15.74 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 13.51%, showing a certain degree of contraction. In terms of price, the average export price of China's garlic in 2025 was 1078.13 US dollars/ton, a decrease of 17.44% from 1305.86 US dollars/ton in 2024, and even lower than 1124.33 US dollars/ton in 2023. From a monthly trend perspective, the annual average export price showed a "high-low" pattern, maintaining a relatively high level in the first half of the year and gradually declining in the second half of the year, which is mainly related to the sufficient domestic garlic production and the intensified price competition in the international market. The breakthrough in China's garlic exports in 2025 was mainly due to the special supply and demand pattern in overseas markets from late 2024 to early 2025. Starting from September 2024, the Indian market experienced a shortage of garlic, leading to a sharp increase in prices. This change prompted South Asian and some Middle Eastern countries to increase their procurement efforts, purchasing a large amount of Chinese garlic. As a result, China's garlic exports reached a single-month historical high of 28.19 million tons in November 2024. This strong demand momentum continued until the new garlic was listed in 2025, even though February coincided with the Chinese New Year holiday, which affected domestic processing and transportation to some extent, the garlic export volume in February still increased by 20%-30% compared to the same period in history, achieving a non-off-season. In addition, after the new garlic was listed in 2025, the price fell, attracting traditional overseas merchants to increase their stockpiling efforts, with exports of 23.27 million tons and 25.49 million tons in June and July respectively, contributing to the record-breaking annual export volume.