China’s In Spice Market:
China has begun cultivating and exporting chillies and cumin, two of India’s most critical spice exports, at lower and more competitive prices, posing a potential challenge to India’s long-standing dominance as the world’s largest spice supplier.Chillies form the backbone of India’s spice exports, accounting for over 25% of total export volume and value. Cumin, meanwhile, is among the most in-demand high-value spices, particularly in West Asia, Europe, and the Americas, where it is widely used in food processing and culinary applications.In 2024–25, India recorded strong growth in spice export volumes, with chilli powder exports rising 35% to 80.6 million kg and total chilli exports increasing 19% to over 700,000 tonnes, compared to 15% growth in 2023–24.Despite higher volumes, chilli export earnings declined 11% due to severe global price pressure, even as cumin exports surged 39% to 2.29 lakh tonnes from 1.65 lakh tonnes in 2023–24.China is strengthening its presence in the global spice market by focusing on high-demand chilli varieties such as paprika (for colour and mild flavour) and Teja chilli (for high pungency and pharmaceutical use), while importing raw Indian chillies, processing them domestically, and re-exporting finished products to third-country markets at competitive prices.
