How Tariffs Will Impact Biodegradable Golf Ball Prices
Update: New tariff announcements have been made since the writing of this post. The figures in this blog post may not be representative of the most recent updates.
Like almost every other industry, the manufacturing and distributing of biodegradable golf balls will be impacted by the newly enacted tariffs. In this post, we’ll share our perspective on how the biodegradable golf ball market will be impacted.
Who Are The Main Suppliers of Biodegradable Golf Balls?
Historically, biodegradable golf balls have been manufactured by two main suppliers. One supplier is Albus Golf, which makes their fish food biodegradable golf balls in Spain. The other supplier is Jiangmen Proudly Water-Soluble Plastic Co., Ltd., a manufacturer in Guangdong, China. Albus sells under their own brand name, whereas biodegradable golf balls you find online and Amazon under various brand names are sourced from the same factory in China.
This Spring we are launching the ZERO™ Biodegradable Golf Ball, a better-performing biodegradable golf ball backed with clear and transparent eco-certifications. We are proud to manufacture our ball in the USA 🇺🇸.
How Will Tariffs Impact Biodegradable Golf Ball Prices in the USA?
Prior to launching the ZERO™ Biodegradable Golf Ball, we purchased biodegradable golf balls from the other suppliers for our Full Service events. As part of our market research, we track ball prices every month. As of March 2025, the retail price - defined as a purchase for ~100 balls but not discounted due to bulk orders - for an Albus ball was $2.63 per ball. The retail price of China supplied ball was $2.08 per ball.
It was recently announced that the USA will place effective tariffs of 104% on China and 25% on the European Union - of which Spain is a part of. Tariffs are assessed on the cost of goods being imported (or the declared value), not the retail price a customer pays. It’s also worth noting that these biodegradable golf balls are imported as finished products, which means that tariffs will be assessed on the raw materials, packaging, and labor that went into making these products.
We don’t know the cost of goods for Albus balls, but we can make an educated assumption that it costs about $1.00 per ball to make. We do know that the total cost to import biodegradable golf balls from China is around $0.80 per ball. If these companies choose to pass 100% of the tariff costs to American customers, the retail price of an Albus ball will increase to $2.88 per ball and the retail price of a China supplied ball will increase to $2.91 per ball.
How will the ZERO™ Biodegradable Golf Ball be impacted by tariffs?
For the American domestic market, tariffs will have less of an impact on the pricing of our ZERO™ Biodegradable Golf Ball than on other suppliers. The reason is because we manufacture our biodegradable golf balls in the United States, which means less of our supply chain is impacted by American-levied tariffs. However, reciprocal tariffs levied by other countries means that we may be exposed to greater tariffs on exports than other suppliers.
High Quality, American Manufactured Biodegradable Golf Balls
The recent tariff announcements will have an impact on the biodegradable golf ball industry. Despite this volatility, we are confident that our USA-manufactured ZERO™ Biodegradable Golf Ball will provide the best quality biodegradable golf ball on the market. If you are looking to import the best biodegradable golf balls for waterfront paradise, please get in touch to discuss how the recent tariff announcements will impact pricing.
Written By Daniel Bucci, President Of Splash City Golf
Daniel has been tracking the prices of biodegradable golf balls since 2017.