How trade policy can change where water flows Iryna SikoraFan ZhangChristian Borja-VegaPavel Luengas Sierra March 19, 2026 This page in: English Français Español العربية 中文 © 2026 World Bank Group,

Every morning, millions of people start the day with a cup of coffee. Few realize that producing that single cup—from growing the plant to processing the beans—requires around 150 liters of water, most used far from where the coffee is consumed. Add the water required to make a teaspoon of sugar (about 10 liters), a splash of milk (10 liters), and a small cookie (30 liters), and breakfast exceeds what many people use at home in a day. This hidden water embedded in the goods we consume is known as “virtual water”. Through trade, enormous volumes of it move across borders. In fact, international trade moves roughly 500 billion tons of water every year—50 times the weight of all the goods shipped by sea, or a quarter of total global water use. These flows have grown rapidly. Over the past two decades, virtual water trade has increased by half, reflecting rising incomes, shifts toward more water-intensive diets, and longer value chains. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/trade/how-trade-policy-can-change-where-water-flows © 2026 World Bank Group,