Lentils (Pixabay)

Lentils exports by country totaled US$3.45 billion in 2025, growing by 16.2% for all shippers of lentils compared to five years earlier in 2021 when globally exported lentils were worth $2.97 billion.

Year over year, globally exported lentils shrank by -22.3% from $4.43 billion starting from 2024.

Lentils are used to cook many different dishes around the world. For example, lentil curry is an everyday staple eaten with both rice and roti throughout India. Lentils are often combined with rice due to its similar cooking time. In Europe as well as in North and South American countries, lentils commonly enrich soups and salads.

The 5 biggest exporters of lentils are Canada, Australia, Türkiye, Kazakhstan and the United States of America. Combined, that quintet of lentils suppliers sold 84.5% of the overall value of the world’s exported lentils. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated cohort of lentils exporting nations.

Among continents, international suppliers located in North American countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported lentils during 2025 with shipments valued at $1.42 billion or 41.2% of the overall total. In second place were exporters in Asia at 25.5% while another 23.9% of worldwide shipments of lentils originated from Oceania (mostly Australia).

Smaller percentages came from exporters in Europe (8.5%) and Africa (0.7%), trailed by sellers in Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 071340 for dried and shelled lentils.

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

1. Canada: US$1.3 billion (36.5% of total lentils exports)
2. Australia: $824.6 million (23.9%)
3. Türkiye: $479.3 million (13.9%)
4. Kazakhstan: $185.3 million (5.4%)
5. United States: $161.9 million (4.7%)
6. Russia: $153.7 million (4.5%)
7. India: $93.2 million (2.7%)
8. United Arab Emirates: $62.4 million (1.8%)
9. Belgium: $30.2 million (0.9%)
10. Netherlands: $22.6 million (0.7%)
11. Egypt: $20.7 million (0.6%)
12. Syria: $19.6 million (0.6%)
13. Italy: $12.5 million (0.4%)
14. Germany: $11.6 million (0.3%)
15. France: $9.9 million (0.3%)

Countries Benefiting from Best Trade Surpluses for Lentils

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for lentils 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 lentils and its import purchases for that same commodity.

1. Canada: US$1.2 billion (net export surplus down -20% since 2024)
2. Australia: $821.9 million (down -6%)
3. Kazakhstan: $183.6 million (up 57.2%)
4. Russia: $153.2 million (down -34.2%)
5. United States: $90.2 million (down -59.3%)
6. Türkiye: $11 million (down -93.4%)
7. Myanmar: $9.3 million (up 66.9%)
8. Ukraine: $7.9 million (down -7.5%)
9. Syria: $6.7 million (reversing a -$9.9 million deficit)
10. Bahrain: $1.8 million (reversing a -$2.5 million deficit)
11. Tanzania: $937,000 (down -38.3%)
12. Afghanistan: $548,000 (reversing a -$739,000 deficit)
13. Sierra Leone: $355,000 (down -17.2%)
14. Curaçao: $352,000 (reversing a -$76,000 deficit)
15. British Indian Ocean Terr: $62,000 (2024 data unavailable)

World-leading lentils supplier Canada generated the highest surplus in the international trade of that commodity. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Canada’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

Countries Facing Largest Trade Deficits from Lentils

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for lentils 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 lentils purchases and its exports for that same commodity.

1. India: -US$619.3 million (net export deficit down -8% since 2024)
2. Bangladesh: -$298 million (down -31.2%)
3. United Arab Emirates: -$149.6 million (reversing a $44 million surplus)
4. Sri Lanka: -$127.5 million (up 2.6%)
5. Colombia: -$109.3 million (up 3.2%)
6. Pakistan: -$99 million (down -23.9%)
7. Iraq: -$98.1 million (down -54.3%)
8. Algeria: -$95.7 million (down -52.1%)
9. Sudan: -$90.9 million (down -9.1%)
10. Morocco: -$88.9 million (up 15.1%)
11. Egypt: -$80.5 million (down -41.8%)
12. Peru: -$71.2 million (up 7.8%)
13. Saudi Arabia: -$68.3 million (up 1.5%)
14. Spain: -$67 million (up 30%)
15. Italy: -$56.7 million (up 7.7%)

Highly populated India and Bangladesh incurred the severest deficits in the international trade of lentils. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight Indian and Bangladeshi competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for lentils-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand from both Asian countries.

Canada in the Lentils Business

• Agrocorp Processing Ltd. (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan)
• Bonduelle Groupe (Ingersoll, Ontario)
• BroadGrain Commodities Inc. (Toronto, Ontario)
• Canpulse Foods Ltd. (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
• Cargill Limited (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• ILTA Grain (Surrey, British Columbia)
• Marina Commodities Inc. (Mississauga, Ontario)
• Scoular Canada Ltd. (Calgary, Alberta)
• Terfloth (Montreal, Quebec)
• Viterra Inc. (Regina, Saskatchewan)