France Trade Statistics 2026: Where Does Economic Growth Lie? We Investigate

France Economy Overview

France is the 6th largest economy in the world and it has the 2nd largest economy in the Eurozone after Germany.

With the latest numbers showing total annual exports of $563 billion and imports of $657 billion, France has a negative trade balance of -$93.9 billion.

This guide provides an overview of France’s economy, including the country’s primary imports and exports.

Table of Contents show

France’s Top Exports

Here is a breakdown of the most important products exported by France, both commodities and other notable exports.

Commodity Exports

Refined petroleum – $9.9 billion
Wheat – $4.27 billion
Petroleum gas – $2.08 billion
Gold – $2.12 billion
Electricity – $2 billion

If you’re interested in trading some of these commodities, you can jump to our list of recommended regulated brokers in at the end of the page.

Other Notable Exports

Planes, helicopters, and/or spacecraft – $43.8 billion
Cars – $26 billion
Packaged medicaments – $25.7 billion
Vehicle parts – $16.5 billion
Gas turbines – $14.4 billion
Wine – $11.1 billion

A recovery in France’s export performance since the global financial crisis in 2008 has mainly been driven by the transportation industry. Even so, the country’s export numbers have decreased in the last five reported years, from $581 billion in 2013 to $563 billion in 2018.

France’s Top Imports

Here is a breakdown of the most important products imported by France, both commodities and other notable imports.

Commodity Imports

Crude petroleum – $23.3 billion
Refined petroleum – $20.4 billion
Petroleum gas – $17.3 billion
Coffee – $2.07 billion
Hot-rolled iron – $2.01 billion

Other Notable Imports

Cars – $40.1 billion
Aircraft parts – $16.3 billion
Vehicle parts – $16.4 billion
Packaged medicaments – $15.1 billion
Broadcasting equipment – $8.89 billion

GDP of France

The latest data puts France’s GDP at $2.78 trillion, which makes it the world’s 6th largest economy in terms of GDP. The country’s GDP per capita is $41.464.

Between 2008 and 2018, the French recorded a negative GDP growth rate of -4.83%. During the same period, the GDP per capita growth went down by -8.54%.

Details on France’s Imports/Exports

Wheat

The total annual value of the world wheat export market is $45.1 billion and France is the fourth-largest exporting country with a 9.47% market share.

Most wheat from France are destined for Algeria (28.1%), Belgium-Luxembourg (13.2%), and the Netherlands (11.8%)

Corn

France is currently the fifth-largest exporter of corn in the world and has a 4.87% share of the global market. Even so, corn exports only account for 0.3% of total exports from France.

The top three destinations for French corn are Spain (20.9%), Germany (18.2%), and the Netherlands (12.7%).

Barley

The annual value of the global barley export market is $7.73 billion and France is the second-largest exporter with a 17.1% market share.

Australia and Russia are France’s main barley export rivals. Between these three countries, they have a 48.4% share of the global market.

France exports 22.8% of its barley to Belgium, followed by Saudi Arabia (17%), the Netherlands (14.9%), China (9.08%), and Germany (7.12%).

Did you know: The French love eating frogs legs but can’t produce enough to satisfy demand, which is why they import 4,000 tons of frogs legs from Indonesia.

Interesting Facts About France

France is the most popular tourist destination according to the World Tourism Organization, who says that more than 89.3 million people visit every year.
France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold or waste food. Since 2016, they have had to donate it to food banks or charities.
The law states that no less than 40% of music broadcast on private radio stations in the country must be of French origin.
France produces more than one billion tons of cheese each year across 1,000 different varieties.

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Data last reviewed: 15/04/2026

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Sources and Further Reading

All figures are based on OEC 2018 calculations and projections unless otherwise stated.
Learn more about the state of world government debt from our country debt clock pages.
See our global economic indicator guide to more than 45 other countries.
Get our full guide to trading commodities.

Also see our guides on stock, CFD, and commodity brokers to find out which online trading platforms are available in .

All currency is reported in US dollars.

Update history

This page was revised 4 times between July 2020 and November 2020.

Nov 9, 2020

Restructured page hierarchy with new H2 sections for exports and imports, added GDP data and economic metrics, refined heading titles for clarity, and improved internal linking guidance.

Nov 2, 2020

Updated trade balance figures to $563B exports/$657B imports (-$93.9B deficit), replaced embedded tables with commodity lists, refreshed wheat/corn/barley market rankings and percentages, and added new sections on interesting facts and broker resources.

Sep 8, 2020

Added new section promoting commodity trading brokers with regulatory risk warning for the country.

Jul 30, 2020

Added overview of France's trade economy with detailed sections on major exports (planes, cars, wine), imports (cars, aircraft parts, medicaments), and commodity markets (wheat, aluminum, petroleum, corn, barley) plus tourist statistics.

Show all 4 updates (1 more)