01 · The finding.
International databases file Brazil among the larger exporters of "coir" under HS 5305. The Brazilian customs series says otherwise. Of the US$45.6 million exported under NCM 5305.00.90 in 2025, 99.85 % left from Bahia, at about US$1,120 per tonne, and the largest exporting municipalities are Conceição do Coité, Valente, Retirolândia and Riachão do Jacuípe, the core of Bahia's sisal region.[1] That is sisal. Brazil's genuine coir exports are small and recent: 196 t in 2025 and 642 t in January–August 2026, all from one municipality in Ceará to the Netherlands, at US$252–300 per tonne FOB.[1] The Dutch import statistics record the same flow.[2]
02 · Exports by year and state.
| Year | Total t | Total US$ M | US$/t | Bahia share of value | Ceará t | Ceará US$/t |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 34,433 | 37.6 | 1,092 | 99.99 % | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 38,073 | 47.8 | 1,256 | 99.97 % | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 35,217 | 45.0 | 1,279 | 99.89 % | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 45,261 | 46.3 | 1,023 | 99.73 % | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 36,672 | 39.2 | 1,069 | 99.93 % | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 40,624 | 45.6 | 1,123 | 99.85 % | 196 | 287 |
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 25,972 | 31.8 | 1,224 | 99.41 % | 642 | 261 |
Source: Comex Stat / MDIC, exports, NCM 5305.00.90, by state of origin; net weight and FOB value. Unit values and shares calculated by Carve. Ceará recorded US$8 and 0 kg in 2021.[1]
03 · Where the 2025 exports went.
| Destination | Tonnes | US$ M | Share of value | US$/t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 30,531 | 33.45 | 73.3 % | 1,096 |
| Portugal | 1,859 | 2.04 | 4.5 % | 1,098 |
| Egypt | 1,206 | 1.71 | 3.7 % | 1,420 |
| Mexico | 1,403 | 1.59 | 3.5 % | 1,130 |
| Algeria | 1,023 | 1.17 | 2.6 % | 1,140 |
| Spain | 769 | 1.04 | 2.3 % | 1,346 |
| India | 852 | 1.00 | 2.2 % | 1,174 |
Source: Comex Stat / MDIC, exports by destination, NCM 5305.00.90, 2025. China, Portugal, Spain and North Africa are established sisal buyers; the unit values of US$1,100–1,400 per tonne are sisal prices, several times the price of raw coir fibre (see Coir fibre price 2026).[1]
04 · The Ceará coir flow, month by month.
| Month | Tonnes | FOB US$ | US$/t FOB | NL imports t (Eurostat) | €/t CIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 45.2 | 13,154 | 291 | 45.2 | 325 |
| Nov 2025 | 69.0 | 20,712 | 300 | — | — |
| Dec 2025 | 82.1 | 22,471 | 274 | 151.1 | 306 |
| Jan 2026 | 137.2 | 35,903 | 262 | 133.6 | 292 |
| Feb 2026 | 140.4 | 37,253 | 265 | 102.0 | 311 |
| Mar 2026 | 110.2 | 28,707 | 261 | 120.1 | 328 |
| Apr 2026 | 100.7 | 26,153 | 260 | 88.3 | 328 |
| May 2026 | 25.9 | 6,824 | 263 | 23.4 | 320 |
| Jul 2026 | 52.1 | 13,117 | 252 | 26.7 | 308 |
| Aug 2026 | 75.8 | 19,812 | 261 | — | — |
| Total | 838.5 | 224,106 | 267 |
Brazil side: Comex Stat / MDIC, exports from Ceará, NCM 5305.00.90, destination Netherlands; no Ceará exports in June 2026.[1] Dutch side: Eurostat Comext, Netherlands imports from Brazil, CN 5305 00 00, by month of import, so a shipment usually appears one month later than in the Brazilian series.[2] The customs code cannot separate fibre from pith; at this price and destination the flow may include pith or mixed coir.
05 · Context: Brazil imports more coir than it exports.
Under the same code Brazil imported 10,597 t for US$5.38 million in 2025, US$508 per tonne, and India supplied 97.8 % of the tonnage.[1] India does not export sisal, so these imports are coir, mostly processed pith. The full import series is in the Portuguese dataset Importações de fibra e pó de coco (Comex Stat).
06 · Method.
- Comex Stat:
POST https://api-comexstat.mdic.gov.br/general, flow export, filter NCM 53050090, details state (and country, and month for Ceará), metrics FOB value and net kg; one call per calendar year, data updated to August 2026. Queried on 24 September 2026. - Eurostat: Comext dataset DS-045409, reporter NL, partner BR, product 53050000, flow import, monthly; API call.
- Calculations by Carve: unit values (value ÷ net weight), shares and totals. No estimates.
- Interpretation: reading Bahia's exports as sisal rests on the state and municipalities of origin, the destinations and the unit value; the customs code itself does not distinguish the fibres.
07 · Download and reuse.
CSV files: UTF-8, semicolon separator, decimal comma, as in all Carve datasets. The compilation and the files are published under CC BY 4.0: reuse with attribution to Carve and a link to this page. The official data belong to MDIC and Eurostat.
Cite as: Carve Substrates (2026). Brazil coir fibre exports: HS 5305 data 2020–2026 (v1.0) [Data set]. https://carvebio.com.br/en/data/brazil-coir-fiber-exports
08 · Frequently asked questions.
Does Brazil export coir fibre?
Very little. Brazil's exports under NCM 5305.00.90 were US$45.6 million in 2025, but 99.85 % of that value left from Bahia, at about US$1,120 per tonne, which is the profile of sisal. Genuine coir exports are small: 196 t in 2025 and 642 t in January–August 2026, all from Ceará to the Netherlands.
Why do trade statistics show Brazil as a large coir exporter?
Since the 2007 revision of the Harmonized System, sisal is classified in heading 5305 with coir. Brazil has no separate NCM line for coir, so its sisal exports appear under the same code that international databases label coir.
What price does Brazilian coir export at?
The Ceará shipments to the Netherlands averaged about US$267 per tonne FOB from October 2025 to August 2026, between US$252 and US$300 by month. Dutch import statistics for the same flow show €292–328 per tonne CIF.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. The compilation and the CSV files are published under CC BY 4.0: cite Carve and link to this page. The official data belong to MDIC (Comex Stat) and Eurostat.
09 · Sources.
- Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços (MDIC), Comex Stat: exports and imports, NCM 5305.00.90, by state, municipality, country and month, 2020–August 2026. comexstat.mdic.gov.br.
- Eurostat, Comext DS-045409: Netherlands imports from Brazil, CN 5305 00 00, monthly. ec.europa.eu/eurostat.