Russian sugar confectionery exports reach record revenue in 2025

Revenue and returning markets

Russia exported an estimated 84,000 tonnes of sugar confectionery in 2025. Agroexport put revenue at almost US$258 million, up 13% year on year and above the previous record of US$243.5 million in 2022. Neighboring countries remained the largest buyers.

Shipments to India and Libya resumed in 2025 following a pause beginning in 2023. Deliveries also restarted to Bahrain, worth around US$40,000, and Albania, exceeding US$60,000, after interruptions dating from 2023.

The five leading destinations by export value were:

• Belarus: more than US$77 million;
• Kazakhstan: around US$71 million;
• Azerbaijan: more than US$17 million;
• Kyrgyzstan: around US$14 million;
• Uzbekistan: around US$14 million.

An earlier snapshot and consumption outlook

During the first seven months of 2025, Russian sugar-confectionery exports totaled approximately 36,000 tonnes and more than US$100 million, according to Agroexport’s August update. Kazakhstan represented 26% of export value in that snapshot, followed by Belarus with 24% and Azerbaijan with 8%. Those shares covered the interim period rather than the completed calendar year.

Pastila, marmalade and chewy sweets together accounted for 28.2% of sugar-confectionery consumption in Agroexport’s August breakdown. Chewing gum represented 21.1%, hard-boiled candy 9.4%, toffee 8.3% and nougat 8.1%; mint sweets were also among the listed categories. These were consumption-category shares, distinct from the destination shares of Russian exports.

For the wider confectionery market, Agroexport cited expert forecasts of global consumption reaching 72 million tonnes and a value exceeding US$747 billion by 2030. The center associated that outlook with rising average incomes and faster urbanization. This projection covered confectionery broadly, while the Russian export figures above concerned the sugar-confectionery segment.

Which products belong to the category?

Sugar confectionery occupies heading 1704 in Chapter 17 of the HS 2012 classification, published by the United Nations Statistics Division. The chapter covers sugars and sugar confectionery. Heading 1704 includes white chocolate and excludes products containing cocoa. Its six-digit breakdown separates chewing gum, whether sugar-coated or not, under code 170410 from other sugar confectionery, including white chocolate, under code 170490.

Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa fall under heading 1806 in Chapter 18 of that edition. Its subdivisions include sweetened cocoa powder and bulk chocolate preparations, alongside filled and unfilled blocks, slabs or bars weighing no more than two kilograms. Bulk forms include liquids, pastes, powders and granules in containers or immediate packaging holding more than two kilograms. Other cocoa-containing food preparations have a separate residual subheading within the same heading.