BioTrade: protecting biodiversity through sustainable commerce

Global trade in biodiversity-based products — the domain of UNCTAD's BioTrade initiative — reached an estimated US$180 billion in 2024. This encompasses a wide range of categories including botanical extracts, essential oils, natural cosmetic ingredients, medicinal plants, sustainable forestry products, and wildlife-based goods traded under CITES frameworks. UNCTADstat's BioTrade datasets provide, for the first time, systematic tracking of trade flows in these categories with explicit sustainability criteria.

Botanical extracts and essential oils represent the fastest-growing segment of BioTrade, with global exports growing 14% annually over the past five years. Key exporters include India, Madagascar, Peru, Morocco, and Ecuador — economies with high biodiversity assets and established extraction sectors. The primary markets are in Europe and North America, where demand for natural cosmetic ingredients and functional foods has surged with consumer interest in sustainable and traceable sourcing.

UNCTAD's BioTrade Principles and Criteria — which require that traded products are sustainably sourced, legally traded, and benefit local communities — provide a framework for distinguishing genuinely sustainable BioTrade from conventional commodity trade that may involve biodiversity loss. An increasing number of large cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies have adopted BioTrade compliance as part of supply chain due diligence, driven by regulatory requirements such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy and upcoming due diligence regulations.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS), which entered into force in 2014, requires companies using genetic resources from biodiversity to ensure that the countries of origin share in the benefits. UNCTADstat data shows that ABS-compliant trade flows have grown substantially, with over 35,000 registered accesses to genetic resources recorded by 2024. However, implementation remains uneven, and informal trade flows in biodiversity-based products — particularly in developing countries — are largely unmeasured.

For developing economies rich in biodiversity, BioTrade represents a rare opportunity to generate export revenues while simultaneously protecting natural capital. UNCTAD's analysis shows that economies with strong BioTrade programmes see measurable improvements in conservation outcomes in project areas, as local communities gain economic incentives to protect, rather than convert, biodiverse habitats. Scaling this model requires targeted investment in certification infrastructure, community capacity building, and market access facilitation for small producers.

Datasets used in this analysis