Flavours of 2023: EU spice imports

In 2023, the EU imported 339 800 tonnes of spices from extra-EU countries. China was the largest supplier of spices, accounting for 39% of all spice imports into the EU.

The most imported spice in 2023 was ginger with 114 000 tonnes, followed by paprika (110 600 tonnes) and pepper (50 300 tonnes). China was the main country of origin for ginger (43%) and paprika (73%), while Vietnam was the main supplier of pepper (63%).

Turmeric (16 000 tonnes) ranked 4th, with more than three quarters originating from India (79%). Cinnamon (13 300 tonnes) held 5th position among the most imported spices, with most of the imports coming from Vietnam (35%). 

Source dataset: DS-045409

Compared with 2013, the quantity of spices imported from the extra-EU countries increased by 44%. EU imports of turmeric and ginger more than doubled (+140% and +112% respectively), recording the largest increases among the most traded spices. In contrast, imports of pepper decreased (-19%) since 2013.