China Small-Pack Tomato Paste Export Destinations 2021-2026: How Buyer Countries Changed

1. Small-Pack Exports Became More Geographically Broad

China small-pack tomato paste exports were recorded to 103 destination countries in 2021 and 148 destination countries in 2025. The wider country count matters because small-pack tomato paste is often linked with distributor networks, retail-ready formats, foodservice supply and private-label projects. A broader map can make supplier planning more complex, but it also shows that China is not serving only a narrow set of buyer countries.

Export volume also expanded during this period, rising from 253,963 tons in 2021 to 486,487 tons in 2025. The volume growth was discussed in more detail in our small-pack export data review. This article adds the destination-country layer: where that volume was absorbed and how concentrated the buyer map became.

2. Iraq Became the Main Swing Destination in 2023-2025

The sharpest destination-country change was Iraq. Iraq was not a recorded destination in the 2021 source files, then became the largest buyer by export value in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2023, Iraq accounted for 39.1% of China small-pack tomato paste export value. In 2025, it remained the largest destination at 26.5%, equal to US$95.8m and 130,650 tons.

This explains why Middle East/Gulf destinations became much more important in the full-year structure. The region represented 36.1% of 2025 export value, compared with only 7.0% in 2021. The shift was not only a broad regional story; it was heavily influenced by Iraq's rise as a single large small-pack destination.

3. African Buyer Markets Remained the Base Layer

Africa was the largest regional group in 2021, accounting for 82.2% of export value. Even after the Iraq-led expansion changed the ranking in 2023, African destinations continued to hold many of the leading positions. Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cote d'Ivoire remained recurring top destinations in the dataset.

By full-year 2025, Africa accounted for 48.3% of export value, slightly above the Middle East/Gulf share. This suggests that African distributor and foodservice demand remained a core market for China small-pack tomato paste even when Iraq was the largest single country.

4. Jan-Apr 2026 Showed a More Distributed Buyer Map

January-April 2026 should be read as a same-period update, not a full-year result. During these four months, China small-pack tomato paste exports reached 118 destination countries, with export value of US$107.3m. Nigeria ranked first by export value at 9.6%, followed closely by Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire.

The most important comparison is concentration. In January-April 2025, Iraq accounted for 35.2% of export value. In January-April 2026, the largest destination accounted for only 9.6%. Africa's share rose to 74.6%, while Middle East/Gulf destinations fell to 9.1%. That does not prove a permanent annual change, but it is a clear early-year shift in the recorded shipment pattern.

5. What Importers Should Do With This Data

For importers, distributors and food manufacturers, destination-country data is most useful when it is connected to practical sourcing questions.

1. Track whether Iraq returns in later 2026 data. If Iraq remains low, annual concentration may stay much lower than in 2023-2025.
2. Monitor African destinations separately. Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire are important small-pack markets, but product format, label language, carton configuration and distributor channel requirements can differ by country.
3. Use average export unit value only as a trend signal. Actual quotations still need to be checked by Brix, color value, tin size, carton packing, brand or private-label work, shipment month, port and payment terms.

Supply reliability still depends on the production base behind the export data. Our article on why Xinjiang is central to China tomato paste exports explains the supply-side foundation behind China's tomato paste exports.

Conclusion

From 2021 to 2025, China small-pack tomato paste exports became both larger and more geographically broad. The number of destination countries increased, while Iraq became the largest single buyer and reshaped the full-year ranking from 2022 onward. At the same time, African markets remained the most consistent regional base for small-pack demand.

January-April 2026 changed the early-year picture. With no Iraq shipment recorded in the dataset for that period, the leading buyer-country share fell sharply and African destinations moved back to the center of the ranking. Buyers should treat the 2026 figures as an early signal, then watch the next monthly data to see whether the full-year destination map returns to the 2023-2025 pattern or stays more diversified.