Sector footprint
$6.2M in exports
Reported agriculture and food exports in 2024 across 42 qualifying HS6 products.
Sector export playbook ยท HS 01-24
Lesotho Agriculture and food exports
where capability meets demand
Explore Lesotho's HS 01-24 product portfolio, buyer markets, growth signals, and diversification opportunities. Use this guide to prioritize research, not to treat calculated indicators as guaranteed sales.
Sector exports$6.2M2024 reported value
Products42Qualifying HS6 products
Buyer markets11Markets represented
Average CAGR+13.5%Product-level growth signal
Global sector size$30.3BReported buyer imports
Agriculture and food capability
How strong is Lesotho in this sector?
Compare exporter scale with product breadth, buyer demand, growth, and destination reach. A large sector does not remove the need for product, compliance, pricing, and buyer validation.
Global demand
$30.3B buyer imports
The sector's reported buyer import base provides context for product and market prioritization.
How to use the guide
Find the next credible move
Start with products that combine demand and exporter capability, then validate standards, route economics, buyers, and competition.
Product portfolio
Which products anchor the sector?
Each HS6 product is ranked by calculated opportunity and shown with reported market size, exporter exports, growth, and destination reach.
| Product | Global size | Your exports | Opportunity | CAGR | Markets | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HS 210690Food preparations: n.e.s. in item no. 2106.10 | $15.6B | $138.3 | $7.4B | -4.5% | 5 | +0.0% |
| HS 060290Plants, live: n.e.s. in heading no. 0602 | $1.5B | $19.7K | $1.3B | +26.1% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 090240Tea, black: (fermented) and partly fermented tea, in immediate packings of a content exceeding 3kg | $1.0B | $27.0K | $793.7M | -31.1% | 3 | +0.0% |
| HS 210390Sauces and preparations therefor: mixed condiments and mixed seasonings | $796.7M | $0.9 | $762.5M | -45.3% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 040210Dairy produce: milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, in powder, granules or other solid forms, of a fat content not exceeding 1.5% (by weight) | $703.3M | $6.7 | $668.0M | +11.1% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 040510Dairy produce: derived from milk, butter | $1.4B | $69.9K | $623.7M | -47.6% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 100630Cereals: rice, semi-milled or wholly milled, whether or not polished or glazed | $621.6M | $2.0K | $575.0M | +31.8% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 020319Meat: of swine, n.e.s. in item no. 0203.1, fresh or chilled | $636.0M | $4.7K | $560.9M | -36.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 121190Plants and parts (including seeds and fruits) n.e.c. in heading no. 1211, of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered | $1.3B | $2.5M | $499.1M | +15.5% | 4 | +0.2% |
| HS 151190Vegetable oils: palm oil and its fractions, other than crude, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified | $467.5M | $107.6 | $407.5M | +138.9% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 230990Dog or cat food: (not put up for retail sale), used in animal feeding | $1.0B | $77.8 | $295.0M | -79.3% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 170113Sugars: cane sugar, raw, in solid form, as specified in Subheading Note 2 to this chapter, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter | $214.3M | $366.8 | $264.2M | -5.7% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 100590Cereals: maize (corn), other than seed | $676.2M | $36.6K | $223.3M | +35.3% | 2 | +0.0% |
| HS 100199Cereals: wheat and meslin, other than durum wheat, other than seed | $524.4M | $1.4K | $217.2M | +14.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 220820Spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc | $124.7M | $335.1 | $206.1M | +35.7% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 020714Meat and edible offal: of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, cuts and offal, frozen | $206.6M | $0.3 | $199.5M | +18.1% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 080522Fruit, edible: clementines, fresh or dried | $266.2M | $60.1K | $196.0M | +109.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 220300Beer: made from malt | $555.4M | $2.5M | $195.6M | +5.1% | 2 | +1.2% |
| HS 200979Juice: apple, of a Brix value exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter | $105.7M | $28.1 | $157.2M | +3.5% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 140490Vegetable products: n.e.s. in chapter 14 | $169.0M | $17.7K | $142.4M | -23.6% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 151211Vegetable oils: sunflower seed or safflower oil and their fractions, crude, not chemically modified | $160.7M | $317.8 | $119.4M | +36.1% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 220210Waters: including mineral and aerated, containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured | $137.3M | $46.8 | $111.8M | -26.4% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 170199Sugars: sucrose, chemically pure, in solid form, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter | $93.2M | $688.4 | $111.7M | +24.8% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 050400Animal products: guts, bladders and stomachs of animals (other than fish), whole and pieces thereof | $128.9M | $4.3K | $106.7M | +3.5% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 220830Whiskies | $168.5M | $1.3K | $96.1M | +10.4% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 080521Fruit, edible: mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas), fresh or dried | $188.6M | $60.1K | $94.0M | +109.0% | 1 | +0.1% |
| HS 240220Cigarettes: containing tobacco | $77.2M | $1.1 | $83.6M | -10.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 010229Cattle: live, other than pure-bred breeding animals | $78.1M | $11.0K | $78.0M | +15.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 030353Fish: frozen, sardines (Sardina pilchardus, Sardinops spp.), sardinella (Sardinella spp.), brisling or sprats (Sprattus sprattus), excluding fillets, fish meat of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 | $91.6M | $10.2 | $72.4M | -64.0% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 080529Fruit, edible: tangelos, wilkings and similar citrus hybrid, fresh or dried | $73.0M | $60.1K | $70.4M | +109.0% | 1 | +0.1% |
| HS 080390Fruit, edible: bananas, other than plantains, fresh or dried | $47.9M | $477.5 | $69.7M | +63.8% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 100790Cereals: grain sorghum, other than seed | $34.8M | $18.6 | $64.0M | +3.6% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 090220Tea, green: (not fermented), in immediate packings of a content exceeding 3kg | $91.6M | $0.1 | $62.1M | -56.3% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 160413Fish preparations: sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced) | $68.7M | $1.3 | $59.0M | +58.1% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 240120Tobacco: partly or wholly stemmed or stripped | $98.8M | $29.3 | $58.7M | +8.9% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 170290Sugars: n.e.c. in heading no. 1702, including invert sugar and other sugar and sugar syrup blends containing, in the dry state, 50% by weight of fructose | $53.3M | $2.4K | $58.5M | +49.3% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 090111Coffee: not roasted or decaffeinated | $99.2M | $0.1 | $57.7M | +32.3% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 130219Vegetable saps and extracts: n.e.c. in item no. 1302.1 | $303.5M | $200.9K | $57.3M | +30.0% | 1 | +0.1% |
| HS 071290Vegetables: mixtures of vegetables n.e.c. in heading no. 0712, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder but not further prepared, dried | $200.3M | $3.2K | $57.1M | -8.4% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 121299Vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots, chicorium intybus sativum variety): n.e.c. in chapter 12, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, ground or unground, primarily for human consumption | $92.4M | $569.8K | $55.9M | +43.9% | 1 | +0.6% |
| HS 220410Wine: sparkling | $42.9M | $1.2K | $54.8M | +72.8% | 1 | +0.0% |
| HS 230400Oil-cake and other solid residues: whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of soya-bean oil | $57.9M | $16.4K | $54.7M | +30.9% | 1 | +0.0% |
Best markets
Where does sector demand concentrate?
Markets are ranked by calculated opportunity across the qualifying products in this sector view.
USA
USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
6 products represented in the sector.
$4.8B$9.3B reported buyer importsZAF
South Africa
25 products represented in the sector.
$3.5B$3.9B reported buyer importsCAN
Canada
2 products represented in the sector.
$2.8B$2.9B reported buyer importsDEU
Germany
7 products represented in the sector.
$2.4B$6.4B reported buyer importsFRA
France
5 products represented in the sector.
$1.5B$2.6B reported buyer importsCHN
China
1 products represented in the sector.
$668.0M$703.3M reported buyer importsPAK
Pakistan
1 products represented in the sector.
$620.2M$607.2M reported buyer importsGBR
United Kingdom
3 products represented in the sector.
$598.6M$3.0B reported buyer importsCHE
Switzerland, Liechtenstein
1 products represented in the sector.
$247.6M$662.3M reported buyer importsAUS
Australia
1 products represented in the sector.
$151.5M$174.7M reported buyer importsPOL
Poland
1 products represented in the sector.
$63.4M$106.3M reported buyer importsGrowth stars
Which products show the strongest growth?
Average product-level CAGR is a screening signal. Confirm the latest trend, base effects, buyer quality, and commercial feasibility before acting.
| Product | Average CAGR | Opportunity | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|
| HS 151190Vegetable oils: palm oil and its fractions, other than crude, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified | +138.9% | $407.5M | 1 |
| HS 080522Fruit, edible: clementines, fresh or dried | +109.0% | $196.0M | 1 |
| HS 080521Fruit, edible: mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas), fresh or dried | +109.0% | $94.0M | 1 |
| HS 080529Fruit, edible: tangelos, wilkings and similar citrus hybrid, fresh or dried | +109.0% | $70.4M | 1 |
| HS 220410Wine: sparkling | +72.8% | $54.8M | 1 |
| HS 080390Fruit, edible: bananas, other than plantains, fresh or dried | +63.8% | $69.7M | 1 |
| HS 160413Fish preparations: sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced) | +58.1% | $59.0M | 1 |
| HS 170290Sugars: n.e.c. in heading no. 1702, including invert sugar and other sugar and sugar syrup blends containing, in the dry state, 50% by weight of fructose | +49.3% | $58.5M | 1 |
| HS 121299Vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots, chicorium intybus sativum variety): n.e.c. in chapter 12, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, ground or unground, primarily for human consumption | +43.9% | $55.9M | 1 |
| HS 151211Vegetable oils: sunflower seed or safflower oil and their fractions, crude, not chemically modified | +36.1% | $119.4M | 1 |
Diversification opportunities
Which products reach the widest buyer base?
Destination count is a simple breadth indicator. It does not measure destination concentration or guarantee resilience.
HS 210690
Food preparations: n.e.s. in item no. 2106.10
5 markets$7.4B calculated opportunityHS 121190
Plants and parts (including seeds and fruits) n.e.c. in heading no. 1211, of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered
4 markets$499.1M calculated opportunityHS 090240
Tea, black: (fermented) and partly fermented tea, in immediate packings of a content exceeding 3kg
3 markets$793.7M calculated opportunityHS 100590
Cereals: maize (corn), other than seed
2 markets$223.3M calculated opportunityHS 220300
Beer: made from malt
2 markets$195.6M calculated opportunityHS 060290
Plants, live: n.e.s. in heading no. 0602
1 markets$1.3B calculated opportunityHS 210390
Sauces and preparations therefor: mixed condiments and mixed seasonings
1 markets$762.5M calculated opportunityHS 040210
Dairy produce: milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, in powder, granules or other solid forms, of a fat content not exceeding 1.5% (by weight)
1 markets$668.0M calculated opportunityFrequently asked questions
Using the Agriculture and food export playbook
Practical guidance for interpreting sector scale, growth, product breadth, and buyer markets.
How strong is Lesotho in this sector?
Compare sector exports, product breadth, buyer markets, growth, and global demand. These signals identify research priorities rather than guarantee market access.
What are growth stars?
Products with higher average reported growth in the screened rows. Validate the time period, base effects, buyer demand, and current exporter position.
What does diversification mean here?
Products reaching more buyer markets in the screened data. Destination breadth is useful context but does not replace concentration, route, or buyer analysis.
Data source
OECD trade statistics with CEPII context
OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-30). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.