Ginger and paprika from China, pepper from Vietnam

The EU Member States imported 379 000 tonnes of spices from non-EU countries in 2019.

Ginger accounted for the largest share of these imports (111 000 tonnes), closely followed by paprika and allspice (94 000 tonnes) and pepper (69 000 tonnes). The main country of origin of ginger, paprika and allspice imports was China (76 000 tonnes and 65 000 tonnes respectively), while pepper was imported mainly from Vietnam (31 000 tonnes) and Brazil (22 000 tonnes).

Imports of ginger, paprika and pepper were higher than imports of turmeric (15 000 tonnes), most of which came from India (12 000 tonnes), anise and related spices (14 000 tonnes) of which Egypt (4 000 tonnes) was the main supplier, as well as cinnamon (14 000 tonnes), of which almost half came from Indonesia (6 000 tonnes).

The next biggest imported spices were cumin seeds (9 000 tonnes), which came largely from India (4 000 tonnes) and Syria (3 000 tonnes), and coriander seeds (8 000 tonnes), of which half was imported from Russia (4 000 tonnes).

Source dataset: DS-645593

Compared with 2012, the weight of extra-EU imports of spices increased by half (+50%). Extra-EU imports of turmeric and ginger more than doubled, recording the largest increase among the most commonly traded spices.

 Notes:

• The following Harmonized System (HS) product codes were used for the analysis presented in this news item: Pepper: 090411 and 090412; Paprika: 090421 and 090422, Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers: 0906; Coriander seeds: 090921 and 090922; Cumin seeds: 090931 and 090932; Anise and related spices: 090962 and 090961; Ginger: 091011 and 091012; Turmeric: 091030. These were the most imported spices to the EU in 2019, compared to the other spices also classified under chapters 0904 to 0910 of the HS nomenclature.
• The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.