Pepper & spices: Movement

Why chillies make India top of the pepper trade

What this tab covers How it flows between countries: the largest bilateral trade routes drawn on a world map, 2024 UN Comtrade export and import values with the top exporters and importers by share, plus shipping routes, chokepoints and trade restrictions.

Trade code HS 0904 covers Piper pepper and also dried capsicum and pimenta fruits, so it mixes black pepper with chillies, paprika and allspice. That explains the 2024 leaders: India (29.3%) and China (19.7%) export huge volumes of chillies, Spain sells paprika and Mexico dried chillies. Exports totalled $4.81 billion. The United States was the largest importer at 23.4%, ahead of China and India. India appears on both sides, importing pepper for processing and re-export. Blas and Farchy note that spices crossed oceans long before steamships made bulk cargoes viable.

Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows

Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024. Bubbles: shares of reported world exports and imports for the main traded form. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

Pepper · HS 0904

World exports 2024 $4.81 bn sum of 40 reporting countries World imports 2024 $4.94 bn sum of 40 reporting countries Top exporters, share of value India 29.3% China 19.7% Spain 7.2% Indonesia 6.5% Brazil 6% Mexico 3.7% Top importers, share of value United States 23.4% China 11.2% India 5.6% Germany 5.5% Thailand 5.3% Spain 4.5% UN Comtrade, reporter declarations to the world, US$. Exports and imports are reported separately, so totals differ. Re-exporting hubs (Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE) can appear large.