China and the US Lead in Importing Indian Spices

30-Jun-2026 12:41 PM

Kochi: While India exports over 80 varieties of whole spices and value-added spice products to more than 100 countries on a large scale, China and the US stand out as the leading importers. India primarily exports red chili and cumin to China, and black pepper, turmeric, and oleoresins to the US.

During the 2025-26 fiscal year, total export earnings from Indian spices fell to $4.43 billion, a 6.1% decline from the $4.722 billion recorded in 2024-25. A drop in export volume was also observed. Imports of cumin and red chili by China slowed down due to increased domestic production there; nevertheless, China remained the largest buyer of Indian spices, just as it has been for several years. Meanwhile, spice exports to the US were partially affected by heavy tariffs, yet it emerged as the largest market in terms of export revenue, despite the overall dip in earnings.

According to available data, exports of Indian spices to the US generated $711.16 million in revenue in 2024-25, a figure that dropped to $624.35 million in 2025-26. During this period, shipments of black pepper and turmeric from India to the US increased, whereas exports of spice oils and oleoresins declined.

As for China, India had achieved impressive spice exports worth $769.58 million in 2024-25; however, this figure fell by 32% to $518.58 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Earlier, during the 2023-24 fiscal year, China had imported a record 3.09 lakh tonnes of spices worth $928.28 million from India. Production of red chili and cumin is increasing in China.