Cereal imports quantity (FAO, tonnes) by country
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.
What the numbers show
Cereal imports quantity (FAO, tonnes) is currently reported for 53 countries. The highest value is 16.80 million FAO, tonnes in Egypt; the lowest is 12,766 FAO, tonnes in Sao Tome and Principe.
The median across all reporting countries is 326,825 FAO, tonnes, and the mean is 1.25 million FAO, tonnes.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,316.
Over the past decade 48 countries rose and 5 fell. The largest increase was in Zimbabwe (up 642.2%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 74.8%).
Cereal imports quantity: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 16.80 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 74.0% | volatile |
| 2 | Algeria | 7.93 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 5.6% | volatile |
| 3 | Nigeria | 5.87 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 92.5% | volatile |
| 4 | Morocco | 5.51 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 5.7% | volatile |
| 5 | Tunisia | 3.25 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 30.6% | volatile |
| 6 | Libya | 2.90 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 6.8% | volatile |
| 7 | Sudan | 2.54 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 93.5% | volatile |
| 8 | Ethiopia | 2.13 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 67.8% | volatile |
| 9 | South Africa | 2.11 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 23.1% | volatile |
| 10 | Kenya | 1.42 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 21.9% | volatile |
| 11 | Cote d'Ivoire | 1.39 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 85.8% | volatile |
| 12 | Senegal | 1.27 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 60.4% | volatile |
| 13 | Tanzania | 1.23 million FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 124.5% | volatile |
| 14 | Mozambique | 958,235 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 124.9% | volatile |
| 15 | Zimbabwe | 808,676 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 642.2% | volatile |
| 16 | Angola | 784,769 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 45.1% | volatile |
| 17 | Cameroon | 779,491 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 96.6% | volatile |
| 18 | Ghana | 685,409 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 52.1% | volatile |
| 19 | Benin | 649,054 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 589.1% | volatile |
| 20 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 643,448 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 122.9% | rising |
| 21 | Uganda | 463,743 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 169.1% | volatile |
| 22 | Mauritania | 440,793 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 60.9% | volatile |
| 23 | Guinea | 433,586 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 50.5% | volatile |
| 24 | Somalia | 362,697 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 38.9% | volatile |
| 25 | Burkina Faso | 354,838 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 34.8% | volatile |
| 26 | Liberia | 339,289 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 56.7% | volatile |
| 27 | Mauritius | 326,825 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 13.4% | rising |
| 28 | Niger | 326,314 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 27.1% | volatile |
| 29 | Botswana | 291,999 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 63.2% | volatile |
| 30 | Madagascar | 285,358 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | down 9.3% | volatile |
| 31 | Gambia | 266,252 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 117.8% | volatile |
| 32 | Lesotho | 255,968 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 31.4% | volatile |
| 33 | Rwanda | 231,784 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 461.2% | volatile |
| 34 | Eritrea | 219,944 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | down 24.9% | rising |
| 35 | Mali | 213,702 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 87.8% | volatile |
| 36 | Congo | 201,697 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | down 7.6% | volatile |
| 37 | Malawi | 199,076 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 175.8% | volatile |
| 38 | Chad | 183,578 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 263.1% | volatile |
| 39 | Djibouti | 183,334 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 167.4% | volatile |
| 40 | Namibia | 160,597 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 2.4% | volatile |
| 41 | Eswatini | 158,677 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 107.4% | volatile |
| 42 | Gabon | 145,273 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 35.2% | volatile |
| 43 | Sierra Leone | 142,350 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 0.4% | volatile |
| 44 | Togo | 128,238 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 33.1% | volatile |
| 45 | Cape Verde | 84,489 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 32.3% | volatile |
| 46 | Comoros | 67,304 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 142.8% | volatile |
| 47 | Guinea-Bissau | 63,364 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | down 28.6% | volatile |
| 48 | Burundi | 54,379 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 80.7% | volatile |
| 49 | Central African Republic | 48,027 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 16.3% | volatile |
| 50 | Equatorial Guinea | 29,336 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 104.0% | volatile |
| 51 | Seychelles | 18,257 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 49.9% | rising |
| 52 | Zambia | 17,474 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | down 74.8% | volatile |
| 53 | Sao Tome and Principe | 12,766 FAO, tonnes | 2010 | up 22.4% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Africa 66.37 million FAO, tonnes
- North Africa 36.58 million FAO, tonnes
- Sub-Saharan Africa 29.80 million FAO, tonnes
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 29.77 million FAO, tonnes
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa 27.69 million FAO, tonnes
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa and Nigeria 21.82 million FAO, tonnes
About this data
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.