The Kingdom of Sweden is part of a group of neighboring Nordic countries in Northern Europe. Sweden shares land borders with Norway and Finland, plus is connected to Denmark via bridge tunnel via its southwest coast.

With a land area more than 1,600 kilometers long (about 995 miles), Sweden was nicknamed as the Elongated Country by locals. Geographically, Sweden is the third-largest country among European Union member nations and has almost twice the land area of the United Kingdom.

Sweden’s population is 10.4 million people. And while Sweden’s official language is Swedish, an estimated 90% of Swedes can speak English. This is in part English courses are compulsory in the Nordic nation’s school system.

In addition, Sweden is the world’s 39th richest economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a Purchasing Power Parity basis, producing $589.8 billion worth of products and services as of April 2021.

Sweden’s demand for imported goods equals a subtotal US$71.1 billion worth of Swedish spending on the 100 most valuable consumer products imported during 2020.

That consumer-driven dollar amount approaches one half (47.5%) of the overall value of all goods imported into Sweden. Worldwide spending on all Swedish imports, including raw materials, intermediate products and semi-finished goods, totaled $149.8 billion in 2020.

Sweden’s most valuable consumer products in 2020 are: cars; phone devices including smartphones; automobile parts or accessories; refined petroleum oils; and computers.

Spending on Sweden’s top 100 imported consumer products fell by -4.2% from 2019 to 2020. Sweden’s top 100 consumer metric was less than the -5.8% drop for all of Sweden’s imported goods over the latest annual period.

The deceleration in Swedish spending for imported consumer products was roughly half the global average from 2019 to 2020, which was an average decline of -8.2% for all importing countries around the world.

Among the top 100 consumer products imported by Sweden, 58 increased in total value from 2019 to 2020 whereas 42 declined.

Changes in Swedish consumer demand for essential imports offer future opportunities for international suppliers who correctly anticipate which upward or downward trends will continue.

Consumer Products Defined

Economics educator BoyceWire defines a consumer product as a final good or end product that a business creates for consumers to buy. For example, consumers often purchase refined petroleum oil at the gas station while imported crude oil is an intermediate good subject to further processing before being sold to end users.

Although there may be a few wealthy individual buyers, products like turbojets are excluded from the consumer products targeted by this study. That is because turbojets are usually purchased by corporations. In contrast, it is common for a consumer to buy a motorcycle.

Types of Consumer Products

This article focuses on 3 distinct consumer product types.

Convenience Products are easy to access, non-durable, have relatively lower prices and therefore consumers frequently purchase them. Examples of convenience products are food, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, and soap.

Shopping Products are not as easily available, involve more time to make a buying decision, are durable and are not bought as often as most convenience products. A great example of a shopping product is a mobile phone where buying the wrong model is a much more expensive mistake than buying a disappointing loaf of bread.

Speciality Products describe another consumer product type. This grey area includes infrequently purchased, expensive, durable and sometimes rare items. Consumers may consider the product’s brand image when making their purchase decisions. Some examples of speciality products are gold, silver, diamonds, jewelry, and branded refrigerators and dishwashers.

Sweden’s Most Valuable Imported Convenience Products

The list below showcases the most valuable imported convenience products on which buyers in Sweden spent the most. Items were selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level and are presented in descending order.

You can also peruse the greatest increases or decreases in product values from 2019 to 2020 by focusing on the percentages displayed to the right of each product name.

Processed petroleum oils: US$4,408,156,000 (down -34.5%)
Whole fish (fresh): $3,275,702,000 (down -6%)
Medications: $3,121,871,000 (up 12.7%)
Wine: $836,483,000 (up 8.1%)
Fish fillets, pieces: $811,066,000 (up 1.6%)
Miscellaneous plastic items: $809,706,000 (up 6.5%)
Cheese, curd: $690,661,000 (up 2.2%)
Plastic packing goods, lids, caps: $612,489,000 (up 0.7%)
Other food preparations: $482,888,000 (up 6.4%)
Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries: $440,496,000 (up 1.4%)
Coffee: $426,616,000 (up 6.3%)
Chocolate, other cocoa preparations: $420,253,000 (down -1.4%)
Other organic cleaning preparations: $381,219,000 (up 0.3%)
Dried or salted fish: $351,263,000 (down -0.3%)
Waters with added sugar: $319,282,000 (up 1.8%)
Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $265,184,000 (down -41%)
Fresh or chilled beef: $241,358,000 (down -10.6%)
Sugar confectionery (no cocoa): $237,905,000 (down -2.4%)
Other fresh/chilled vegetables: $207,631,000 (up 7.3%)
Sauces, mixed condiments, seasoning: $206,426,000 (up 4.4%)
Swine meat: $201,093,000 (down -16.9%)
Miscellaneous meat (preserved/prepared): $197,758,000 (down -9.3%)
Tissues, napkins, toilet paper: $196,028,000 (up 1.5%)
Crustacean/mollusc (preserved/prepared): $184,502,000 (down -8.8%)
Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs): $182,287,000 (up 4.5%)
Fish, caviar (preserved/prepared): $181,000,000 (up 6.6%)
Cigars/cigarellos, cigarettes: $178,900,000 (up 28.5%)
Miscellaneous preserved fruits: $175,756,000 (up 6.5%)
Fruit and vegetable juices: $172,402,000 (up 5%)
Miscellaneous live plants: $172,351,000 (up 4%)
Fresh or dried citrus fruit: $171,988,000 (up 15%)
Sanitary towels, baby napkins/liners: $168,883,000 (down -9.9%)
Poultry meat: $166,441,000 (down -9.8%)
Tomatoes: $165,896,000 (up 4.6%)
Prepared vegetables (non-frozen): $165,181,000 (up 8.4%)
Palm oil: $161,446,000 (up 15%)
Malt extract, food preparations: $156,555,000 (down -8.7%)
Pasta, couscous: $154,297,000 (up 8.5%)

Convenience products led by the products listed above represent the European country’s second-most popular import product type attracting Sweden’s international spending behind shopping products but ahead of speciality goods.

Non-durable consumer products are goods that are not re-used once consumed. Alcoholic beverages and bananas are examples of non-durable goods. Convenience products are uniquely non-durable consumer products.

Sweden’s Most Valuable Imported Shopping Products

Below, the list highlights the most valuable imported shopping products on which buyers in Sweden spent the greatest amounts. Items were selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level and are presented from highest to lowest total amounts.

The percentages displayed to the right of each product name reveal the highest increases or decreases in Swedish spending on that specific type of shopping product from 2019 to 2020.

Cars: US$8,073,150,000 (down -6.8%)
Phones: $6,259,268,000 (up 5.3%)
Automobile parts/accessories: $5,136,312,000 (down -18.2%)
Computers, optical readers: $3,905,650,000 (up 11.4%)
Miscellaneous furniture: $1,263,940,000 (up 1.8%)
Insulated wire/cable: $1,152,016,000 (down -2.2%)
Trucks: $1,145,945,000 (down -22.8%)
Electrical converters/power units: $907,447,000 (up 7.4%)
Rubber tires (new): $855,886,000 (down -10.1%)
Microphones/headphones/amps: $845,542,000 (up 8.9%)
Seats (not barber/dentist chairs): $835,881,000 (down -2%)
Lower-voltage switches, fuses: $761,482,000 (down -5.3%)
Women’s clothing (not knit/crochet): $557,718,000 (down -2.6%)
Miscellaneous iron or steel items: $550,372,000 (down -5.9%)
Men’s suits (unknit/non-crochet): $537,856,000 (down -7%)
Jerseys, pullovers (knit or crochet): $530,061,000 (down -4%)
Printing machinery: $489,547,000 (down -16%)
Footwear (textile): $474,073,000 (up 5.2%)
Footwear (leather): $465,509,000 (down -7%)
Screws, bolts, washers, hooks, pins: $461,085,000 (down -10.9%)
Sports equipment: $452,540,000 (up 6.2%)
Trailers: $402,677,000 (down -11.6%)
Computer parts, accessories: $395,030,000 (down -3.1%)
Orthopedic appliances: $389,906,000 (down -5.5%)
T-shirts, vests (knit or crochet): $373,534,000 (down -6.1%)
Women’s clothing (knit or crochet): $369,129,000 (up 0.3%)
Video console games, table games: $365,373,000 (up 41.9%)
Mattresses, quilts: $362,874,000 (up 3.9%)
Cases, handbags, wallets: $350,722,000 (down -16.1%)
Miscellaneous toys: $329,970,000 (up 9.7%)
Vulcanized rubber items: $314,423,000 (down -9%)
Paper containers, cellulose wadding: $303,693,000 (up 15.3%)
Unrecorded sound media: $298,587,000 (up 1.1%)
Miscellaneous textile items: $290,776,000 (up 92%)
Tractors: $268,369,000 (down -17%)
Women’s coats (unknit/non-crochet): $248,703,000 (down -2.3%)
Motorcycles: $206,099,000 (up 0.9%)
Felt, other non-woven garments: $195,176,000 (up 4%)
Footwear (rubber or plastic): $193,060,000 (down -5.8%)
Yachts, canoes, row boats: $192,687,000 (up 37%)
Packaged insecticides, herbicides: $189,628,000 (up 53.8%)
Men’s coats (unknit/non-crochet): $180,646,000 (down -16%)
Vulcanized rubber apparel: $178,993,000 (up 103.2%)
Hot-rolled iron/non-alloy steel items: $175,421,000 (down -17.6%)
Linens: $174,550,000 (up 1.1%)
Locks, lock-keys: $174,074,000 (up 4.9%)
Hair preparations: $171,091,000 (up 12.2%)

Focusing on the scope of this analysis, shopping products is Sweden’s most popular category ahead of both convenience products and speciality items.

Shopping products approach half (47) of the overall top 100 Swedish imported consumer goods.

Durable consumer products are goods like cars, refrigerators and furniture that last a relatively long time. Consumers can put durable products to use again and again. Note that shopping products and speciality products are considered as durable consumer products.

Sweden’s Most Valuable Imported Speciality Products

Speciality products represent the category with the fewest entries among Sweden’s imports that attracted the country’s spending on imported consumer goods during 2020.

Selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level, the most valuable speciality items are listed in descending order below.

The percentage to the right of each product name reveal highest increases or decreases in 2020 compared to 2019.

Liquid pumps: US$766,146,000 (down -5.9%)
Refrigerators, freezers: $742,117,000 (up 6%)
Electric storage batteries: $726,595,000 (up 5.9%)
Electric water heaters, hair dryers: $725,229,000 (up 10.4%)
Dishwash, clean/dry/fill machines: $579,890,000 (up 22.2%)
Temperature-change machines: $487,157,000 (up 1.4%)
Beauty/makeup/skin care: $438,807,000 (up 5.4%)
Household base metal mountings: $421,452,000 (down -2.5%)
Air conditioners: $333,614,000 (down -4%)
Vacuum cleaners: $286,920,000 (up 33.5%)
Washing machines: $286,094,000 (up 5.5%)
Prefabricated buildings: $245,472,000 (up 25%)
Electric generating sets, converters: $234,669,000 (up 14.6%)
Special hand/machine tools: $185,145,000 (down -4.7%)
Electromechanic appliances: $168,767,000 (up 27.9%)

Like shopping products, speciality products are considered as durable consumer products.

Based on the product types identified in the sections above, 62 of Sweden’s 100 highest-value consumer shopper plus speciality products are durable while the remaining 38 convenience products are classified as non-durable.

Sweden’s Overall Fastest-Growing Consumer Imports

Listed below are the top 10 consumer products imported into Sweden that experienced the highest percentage increases in spending from 2019 to 2020.

Vulcanized rubber apparel: Up 103.2% (US$179 million)
Miscellaneous textile items: Up 92% ($290.8 million)
Packaged insecticides, herbicides: Up 53.8% ($189.6 million)
Video console games, table games: Up 41.9% ($365.4 million)
Yachts, canoes, row boats: Up 37% ($192.7 million)
Vacuum cleaners: Up 33.5% ($286.9 million)
Cigars/cigarillos, cigarettes: Up 28.5% ($178.9 million)
Electromechanic appliances: Up 27.9% ($168.8 million)
Prefabricated buildings: Up 25% ($245.5 million)
Dishwashing/cleaning/drying/filling machines: Up 22.2% ($579.9 million)

Four among the above top 10 gainers are speciality products and therefore also durable goods that consumers can re-use over time. The fastest-growing speciality products in demand by importers in Sweden are brand-name vacuum cleaners, electromechanics appliances, prefabricated buildings, and dishwashers plus similar cleaning, drying or filling machines.

The 5 fastest-growing shopping products are: vulcanized rubber apparel; miscellaneous textile items; packaged insecticides or herbicides; video console and table games; then yachts, canoes and row boats.

That one non-durable imported consumer product category that leads in sales growth are cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes.

Sweden’s Overall Worst-Declining Consumer Imports

Spending by import buyers in Sweden on the following 10 items decreased in value by the highest percentages from 2019 to 2020.

Coal, solid fuels made from coal: Down -41% ($265.2 million)
Processed petroleum oils: Down -34.5% ($4.4 billion)
Trucks: Down -22.8% ($1.1 billion)
Automobile parts/accessories: Down -18.2% ($5.1 billion)
Items made from hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel: Down -17.6% ($175.4 million)
Tractors: Down -17% ($268.4 million)
Swine meat: Down -16.9% ($201.1 million)
Cases, handbags, wallets: Down -16.1% ($350.7 million)
Unknitted/non-crocheted men’s coats: Down -16% ($180.6 million)
Printing machinery: Down -16% ($489. million)

Seven categories among Swedish top 10 severest decliners are durable shopping products used over a period of time. The worst slippage among those categories was for Sweden’s imported trucks, automobile parts or accessories, items made from hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel, and tractors.

There were 3 non-durable consumer products among Sweden’s 10 major import decliners from 2019 to 2020, namely coal including solid fuels made from coal, processed petroleum oils, and swine meat.

There were no durable speciality goods among Sweden’s worst decliners year over year.

Key Suppliers by Country

This analysis reveals competitive suppliers that target demand for 5 of Sweden’s top consumer import products.

Sweden’s biggest imported consumer product by value is cars. The other 4 leading consumer goods imported into Sweden are phone devices including smartphones, automobile parts or accessories, processed petroleum oils, and computers.

Below, you will find major supplying countries for Sweden’s imported:

Cars: Germany (49.3% of total), Belgium (20.7%), France (7.5%), United Kingdom (5.7%), South Korea (5.5%), Slovakia (2.3%), Japan (2%), Netherlands (1.2%), Czech Republic (1%), and Italy (0.9%).

Phone devices including smartphones: Netherlands (34.4% of total), Vietnam (12%), China (7.9%), Ireland (7.6%), Germany (6.4%), Poland (6.1%), United Kingdom (3.1%), Denmark (2.6%), Hungary (2.2%), and France (also 2.2%).

Automobile parts or accessories: Germany (25.8% of total), Netherlands (11.9%), Poland (9.9%), Czech Republic (8.7%), Italy (6.3%), France (4.8%), Hungary (4.7%), United Kingdom (4.6%), Belgium (3.9%), and Norway (2.5%).

Processed petroleum oils: Finland (27.7% of total), Netherlands (20.2%), Denmark (13%), Norway (9.7%), Russia (7.2%), Qatar (4.7%), Germany (3.7%), Belgium (3.3%), United Kingdom (3%), and Poland (1.6%).

Computers: Netherlands (43.4% of total), Germany (14.3%), China (7.4%), Denmark (7.3%), Ireland (6.5%), Czech Republic (5.7%), Poland (3.1%), Vietnam (2.3%), United Kingdom (1.9%), and Hungary (1.3%).

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational portals.

BoyceWire, Consumer Goods Definition.

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Sweden Economy.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Investopedia, Consumer Goods, Consumer Staples Definition, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Richest Country Reports, Top 100 Richest Countries by GDP.

Trading Economics, Sweden Consumer Spending.

Wikipedia, List of largest consumer markets.

Wikipedia, Sweden.

World’s Top Exports, Sweden’s Top 10 Imports.