01Key Takeaways
- Tonga exported $11.93 million worth of goods in 2023, down 80.7% from $61.86 million in 2022, by far the sharpest decline anywhere in this dataset and the most recent year with verified trade data available.
- Printed books, newspapers and other printing industry products led every export category at 29.3% ($3.50 million), with vegetables and root crops ranking second at 15.9% ($1.90 million).
- New Zealand was Tonga's largest export market, absorbing 57.9% of exports, worth $6.91 million.
- The top three export partners together accounted for 78.5% of total export value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $42.5M | $17.0M | $12.8M | $61.9M | $11.9M |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | $6.9M | 57.9% |
| 2 | Fiji | $1.8M | 14.7% |
| 3 | United States | $701.5K | 5.9% |
| 4 | Australia | $626.6K | 5.3% |
| 5 | Japan | $519.6K | 4.4% |
| 6 | American Samoa | $460.3K | 3.9% |
| 7 | Singapore | $370.2K | 3.1% |
| 8 | Other Asia, nes | $240.1K | 2.0% |
| 9 | South Korea | $189.5K | 1.6% |
| 10 | Papua New Guinea | $41.7K | 0.3% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other Products of the Printing Industry; Manuscripts, Typescripts and Plans | $3.5M | 29.3% |
| 2 | Edible Vegetables and certain Roots and Tubers | $1.9M | 15.9% |
| 3 | Aircraft, Spacecraft and parts thereof | $1.6M | 13.7% |
| 4 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.2M | 9.8% |
| 5 | Fish and Crustaceans, Molluscs and other Aquatic Invertebrates | $1.1M | 8.9% |
| 6 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $675.3K | 5.7% |
| 7 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $533.6K | 4.5% |
| 8 | Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder | $433.7K | 3.6% |
| 9 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $314.0K | 2.6% |
| 10 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $259.5K | 2.2% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Export Value Crashed Back Down in 2023 After a One-Year Spike
Tonga exported $11.93 million worth of goods in 2023, down 80.7% from $61.86 million in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking one of the smallest economies covered here.
Export value stood at $42.47 million in 2019. It fell for two consecutive years, reaching $16.96 million in 2020 and $12.79 million in 2021, before jumping sharply to $61.86 million in 2022. Export value then fell back to $11.93 million in 2023, close to where it stood in 2021.
This dataset does not explain the sharp 2022 spike or the collapse that followed it. Export value in 2023 sits well below every other year in this five-year window except 2021. A decline of 80.7% is by far the single largest year-over-year move anywhere in this dataset. It describes a return toward the smaller export base seen before the 2022 spike, rather than a new low point. That single-year spike, followed almost immediately by a near-total reversal, is unusual. Few economies covered elsewhere in this dataset show a swing this extreme in back-to-back years.
Printed Materials and Agricultural Goods Lead a Small, Volatile Export List
Printed books, newspapers and other printing industry products led every export category in 2023, worth $3.50 million, or 29.3% of the total, the largest single category on this list. Vegetables and certain roots and tubers ranked second at 15.9%, worth $1.90 million. Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof rounded out a top three at 13.7%, worth $1.64 million. Squash, fish, vanilla beans and root crops are among Tonga's core export goods, a pattern reflected in vegetables and root crops, along with fish, both ranking among this dataset's top five export categories.
Machinery and mechanical appliances added 9.8%, worth $1.17 million, and fish and crustaceans contributed 8.9%, worth $1.06 million. Vehicles added 5.7%, worth $0.68 million, and optical and medical instruments contributed 4.5%, worth $0.53 million. Fish holding a top-five spot fits a small Pacific island economy with direct access to surrounding ocean fisheries.
Oil seeds contributed 3.6% ($0.43 million), and electrical machinery added 2.6% ($0.31 million). Fruit and nuts closed out the top ten at 2.2%, worth $0.26 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. This entire export list is small in absolute terms, a reflection of Tonga's status as one of the smallest economies covered in this dataset. Printed materials and aircraft parts ranking so high likely reflects a handful of large individual shipments rather than sustained domestic industries, given the scale of this economy.
New Zealand Absorbs More Than Half of All Exports
New Zealand was by far Tonga's largest export market in 2023, taking 57.9% of exports, worth $6.91 million. Fiji ranked a distant second at 14.7%, worth $1.75 million. United States followed at 5.9%, worth $0.70 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 78.5% of total export value.
Australia contributed 5.3% ($0.63 million), and Japan added 4.4% ($0.52 million). American Samoa followed at 3.9% ($0.46 million), and Singapore added 3.1% ($0.37 million). These smaller partners each account for only a few hundred thousand dollars of total export value, a reminder of just how small this economy is in absolute terms.
A category labeled "Other Asia, nes," a recognized catch-all classification within international trade statistics for shipments not assigned to a single specific origin, ranked eighth at 2.0%, worth $0.24 million. South Korea followed at 1.6% ($0.19 million), and Papua New Guinea closed out the top ten at 0.3%, worth $0.04 million, the smallest share among the ten destinations listed here. Every partner outside the top two holds a share below 6%, a steep drop-off once the list moves past New Zealand and Fiji into a long tail of much smaller Pacific and Asian markets.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an export profile still dominated by New Zealand, coming off by far the sharpest single-year decline anywhere in this dataset. That profile is built around a small, mixed list of agricultural goods alongside a handful of unusually large individual shipments. The overall scale of this economy's exports remains modest by the standards of most other countries covered in this dataset, even in a stronger year like 2022.