China’s Entry In Spice Market | 17 Jan 2026

Source: ET 

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. 
• Export Performance: 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. 
• Price Pressure: 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’s Strategy: 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. 
• Impact on Indian Agriculture: India is simultaneously facing supply-side challenges: 
  • Chilli acreage has declined by nearly 35% in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, the country’s key chilli-producing states. Cumin cultivation area has fallen by 7–8%. 
  • These declines are driven by weather-related crop losses and persistently low export prices, which have discouraged farmers from sowing chillies and cumin, particularly during the kharif season.