Latest trade
$79.3BGlobal sector valueHS2 sector intelligence
Soap and washing preparations
sector trade overview
A clear view of the soap and washing preparations economy: scale, momentum, market concentration, leading routes, and the products within it.
Explore the workspace Reported trade intelligence
Refreshed 2026-07-20
Refreshed 2026-07-20
The numbers at a glanceLatest reported year · 2024
Annual change
+3.3%Latest year on yearExporters
198Active reporting countriesImporters
200Active reporting countriesHS6 products
23Classifications in sectorThe sector read
$79.3B in trade, with +2.3% annualized growth over three years.
Soap and washing preparations is recorded across 12,860 active corridors, with 198 exporters and 200 importers in the latest available year.
Market signalStable+5.3% five-year CAGR
Annual trend
Momentum across three decades
Reported global trade from 1995 to 2024. Missing years remain unavailable rather than estimated. Read the methodology ↗
Top trade corridors
Where this sector moves
The leading exporter-to-importer relationships by latest reported sector trade value. See data sources ↗
Latest reported relationshipsTop 10 by trade value
| Rank | Exporter | Importer | Trade value | Growth | HS6 | Distance | FTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | CanadaCAN | $2.9B | +7.2% | 23 | 556 km | Yes |
| 2 | JapanJPN | ChinaCHN | $1.5B | -9.3% | 23 | 1,763 km | No |
| 3 | CanadaCAN | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | $1.1B | +5.4% | 23 | 556 km | Yes |
| 4 | MexicoMEX | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | $1.0B | +8% | 23 | 3,359 km | Yes |
| 5 | PolandPOL | GermanyDEU | $987.7M | +6.1% | 23 | 518 km | Yes |
| 6 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | MexicoMEX | $929.2M | +5.8% | 23 | 3,359 km | Yes |
| 7 | ChinaCHN | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | $761.4M | +6.7% | 23 | 11,883 km | No |
| 8 | FranceFRA | GermanyDEU | $759.1M | +4.6% | 23 | 881 km | Yes |
| 9 | GermanyDEU | FranceFRA | $717.6M | -3.4% | 23 | 881 km | Yes |
| 10 | NetherlandsNLD | BelgiumBEL | $717.0M | +7% | 23 | 174 km | Yes |
Market structure
Where supply and demand concentrate
Exporter and importer rankings are separated so scale on one side of the market is not mistaken for demand on the other. Check coverage ↗
Top exporters2024 ranking
| Rank | Country | Exports | Partners | HS6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GermanyDEU | $9.4B | 189 | 23 |
| 2 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | $8.4B | 187 | 23 |
| 3 | ChinaCHN | $7.7B | 200 | 23 |
| 4 | FranceFRA | $4.3B | 186 | 23 |
| 5 | PolandPOL | $3.8B | 165 | 23 |
| 6 | NetherlandsNLD | $3.5B | 184 | 23 |
| 7 | ItalyITA | $3.5B | 176 | 23 |
| 8 | BelgiumBEL | $3.4B | 185 | 23 |
| 9 | JapanJPN | $3.3B | 164 | 23 |
| 10 | United KingdomGBR | $2.4B | 183 | 23 |
Top importers2024 ranking
| Rank | Country | Imports | Partners | HS6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA | $6.0B | 137 | 23 |
| 2 | GermanyDEU | $5.5B | 139 | 23 |
| 3 | ChinaCHN | $5.1B | 118 | 23 |
| 4 | FranceFRA | $3.5B | 156 | 23 |
| 5 | CanadaCAN | $3.4B | 150 | 23 |
| 6 | United KingdomGBR | $3.1B | 129 | 23 |
| 7 | NetherlandsNLD | $2.6B | 143 | 23 |
| 8 | BelgiumBEL | $2.2B | 116 | 23 |
| 9 | PolandPOL | $1.9B | 115 | 23 |
| 10 | ItalyITA | $1.9B | 95 | 23 |
HS6 product coverage
The classifications inside this sector
Explore the six-digit product classifications that make up HS2 34.
30 classifications shownBrowse the product workspace ↗
Soap and organic surface-active products: in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, for toilet use (including medicated products)HS6 340111
Soap and organic surface-active products: in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, not for toilet useHS6 340119
Soap: in forms n.e.c. in item no. 3401.11HS6 340120
Organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in the form of liquid or cream and put up for retail sale, whether or not containing soapHS6 340130
Organic surface-active agents: anionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340211
Organic surface-active agents: cationic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340212
Organic surface-active agents: non-ionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340213
Organic surface-active agents: whether or not put up for retail sale, n.e.c. in heading no. 3402HS6 340219
Washing and cleaning preparations: surface-active, whether or not containing soap (excluding those of heading no. 3401), put up for retail saleHS6 340220
Anionic organic surface-active agents (other than soap): linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts, whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340231
Anionic organic surface-active agents (other than soap): other than linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts, whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340239
Organic surface-active agents: cationic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340241
Organic surface-active agents: non-ionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail saleHS6 340242
Organic surface-active agents: whether or not put up for retail sale, n.e.c. in item no. 3402HS6 340249
Washing and cleaning preparations: powders, flakes and granules, surface-active, whether or not containing soap (excluding those of heading no. 3401), put up for retail saleHS6 340250
Washing and cleaning preparations: surface-active, whether or not containing soap (excluding those of heading no. 3401), including auxiliary washing preparations, not for retail saleHS6 340290
Lubricating preparations: for the treatment of textile and similar materials (leather, furskins etc), containing less than 70% (by weight) of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous mineralsHS6 340311
Lubricating preparations: (other than for the treatment of textile and similar materials), containing less than 70% (by weight) of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous mineralsHS6 340319
Lubricating preparations: for the treatment of textile and similar materials (leather, furskins etc), (not containing petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals)HS6 340391
Lubricating preparations: other than for the treatment of textile and similar materials, not containing petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous mineralsHS6 340399
Waxes: artificial and prepared, of chemically modified ligniteHS6 340410
Waxes: artificial and prepared, of poly(oxyethylene) (polyethylene glycol)HS6 340420
Waxes: artificial and prepared, other than of chemically modified lignite or polyethylene glycolHS6 340490
Polishes, creams and similar preparations: for footwear or leather, excluding waxes of heading no. 3404HS6 340510
Polishes, creams and similar preparations: for the maintenance of wooden furniture, floors or other woodwork, excluding waxes of heading no. 3404HS6 340520
Polishes, creams and similar preparations: for coachwork, other than metal polishes, excluding waxes of heading no. 3404HS6 340530
Scouring pastes and powders and other scouring preparations: (whether or not in the form of paper, wadding, felt, nonwovens, cellular plastics, cellular rubber, impregnated, coated or covered)HS6 340540
Polishes, creams and similar preparations: n.e.s. in heading no. 3405, excluding waxes of heading no. 3404HS6 340590
Candles, tapers and the likeHS6 340600
Modelling pastes: preparations known as dental wax, put up in sets, in packings for retail sale or in plates, horseshoe shapes, sticks or similar forms, other preparations for use in dentistryHS6 340700
Definitions and coverage
Read the numbers with context
Clear definitions keep reported observations and calculated indicators in their proper context. Read our Responsible AI principles ↗
Reported values
Trade values describe reported merchandise trade for the HS2 classification. They are not company-level sales, retail quotes, or shipment records.
Calculated indicators
Growth, concentration, volatility, and peak comparisons are calculated from reported observations and should be read with their coverage period.
Missing data
A missing observation remains unavailable. It is not filled, interpolated, or presented as a forecast.
Coverage: 1995–2024 · Data refreshed 2026-07-20 09:34:08
Data source
OECD trade statistics with CEPII context
OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-27). 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.