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Top Cardamoms Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

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Cardamom spice bowl
Cardamoms bowl
In 2021, exports of cardamoms were worth a total US$1.1 billion.

Exports of cardamoms rose in value by an overall average 80.4% since 2017 when export sales for cardamoms amounted to $604.4 million.

Year over year, overall export revenues for the strong-tasting spice made from plant seeds fell by -28.7% compared to $1.5 billion in international sales during 2020.

Cardamoms are typically used in sweet and savory Asian dishes and spice mixes. They are also flavoring ingredients in coffee and teas, baked treats, chewing gum, garnishes, curry pastes and alcoholic drinks like bitters and gin.

Key Facts about Cardamoms Exports & Imports

By value, the 5 biggest exporters of cardamoms are Guatemala, India, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Nepal. Combined, that leading quintet sold 89.4% of all cardamoms exported during 2021 by revenue. The world leader, Guatemala is a country in Central America sharing its northern border with Mexico and near the Caribbean to its east.

Applying a continental perspective, countries in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean supplied the highest dollar worth of exported cardamoms during 2021 with shipments valued at $525.5 million or 48.2% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Asia (46.2%) trailed by those in Europe (5%), Africa (0.3%), North America (also 0.3%) then Oceania (0.02%) led by Guam and Fiji.

Shifting our focus to imports, the 5 leading importers of cardamoms in 2021 were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, mainland China, Bangladesh and India. Those major buyers imported more than a half (53.7%) of globally imported cardamoms as measured by dollar value.

The above percentages suggest the total 85 exporters of cardamoms (89.4% for the corresponding top 5 exporters) is a more concentrated cohort compared to 158 buying countries, islands and territories. The top 5 importers accounted for a smaller portion of its world total at 53.7%.

As for global imports of cardamoms by continent, 79.1% of cardamoms purchased on international markets was delivered to customers in Asia ahead of importers in Europe (10.1%) then Africa (5.2%), North America (4.4%), Oceania (0.7%) led by Australia, then Latin America (0.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

We calculated the average unit price paid by importers of non-crushed and unground cardamoms to be $14,257 per ton in 2021. That dollar amount reflects a -23.2% decline from the average tonnage rate of $18,569 during 2020.

Unsurprisingly, processed cardamoms exports scored a higher unit price. For crushed or ground cardamoms, the average unit price paid by importers was $16,133 per ton in 2021 down by -5.5% from the average tonnage rate of $17,067 for 2020. The costlier average price is driven by labor costs and other processing expenses.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 090831 for cardamoms that is neither crushed nor ground, and 090832 for crushed or ground cardamoms.

Drilling down on those categories, 94.5% of world . exports by value were for non-crushed and unground cardamoms. The remaining 5.5% was paid for shipments of crushed or ground cardamoms.

Top Cardamoms Exports by Country

Below are the top 20 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of cardamoms during 2021, regardless of whether the shipped cardamoms were crushed, ground or raw.

  1. Guatemala: US$520.8 million (47.8% of exported cardamoms)
  2. India: $206.6 million (19%)
  3. United Arab Emirates: $122.8 million (11.3%)
  4. Indonesia: $76.9 million (7%)
  5. Nepal: $47.2 million (4.3%)
  6. Netherlands: $24.7 million (2.3%)
  7. Singapore: $21.8 million (2%)
  8. United Kingdom: $8.7 million (0.8%)
  9. Germany: $8.4 million (0.8%)
  10. Bhutan: $7.6 million (0.7%)
  11. Laos: $7.2 million (0.7%)
  12. Honduras: $4.5 million (0.4%)
  13. Myanmar: $3.6 million (0.3%)
  14. Sweden: $2.6 million (0.2%)
  15. United States: $2.3 million (0.2%)
  16. Kuwait: $2 million (0.2%)
  17. France: $1.9 million (0.2%)
  18. Bahrain: $1.8 million (0.2%)
  19. Spain: $1.62 million (0.1%)
  20. Austria: $1.55 million (0.1%)

By value, the listed 20 countries shipped 98.6% of globally exported cardamoms in 2021.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing cardamoms exporters since 2020 were: Laos (up 2,534%), Bhutan (up 181.6%), India (up 64.8%) and Austria (up 29.8%).

Posting the severest declines in their exported cardamoms sales were: Myanmar also called Burma (down -67.6% from 2020), Bahrain (down -59.4%), Guatemala (down -49%), Kuwait (down -34.2%) and Honduras (down -32.2%).

Top Cardamoms Imports by Country

Overall spending on imported cardamoms totaled $1.08 billion, more than doubling over the 5-year period starting in 2017 but falling by -9.5% year over year since 2020.

Below are the 20 best buying markets as measured by the highest dollar value worth of cardamoms imported during 2021, for any cardamoms regardless of whether crushed or ground.

  1. Saudi Arabia: US$220.6 million (20.4% of imported cardamoms)
  2. United Arab Emirates: $147.3 million (13.6%)
  3. China: $87.2 million (8.1%)
  4. Bangladesh: $65.7 million (6.1%)
  5. India: $60.9 million (5.6%)
  6. Jordan: $46.6 million (4.3%)
  7. Egypt: $39.5 million (3.7%)
  8. United States: $36.9 million (3.4%)
  9. Pakistan: $25.9 million (2.4%)
  10. Kuwait: $24.9 million (2.3%)
  11. Germany: $23.9 million (2.2%)
  12. Singapore: $22.6 million (2.1%)
  13. Netherlands: $21.1 million (1.9%)
  14. United Kingdom: $21 million (1.9%)
  15. Syria: $17.1 million (1.6%)
  16. Iraq: $17.1 million (1.6%)
  17. Oman: $15.7 million (1.5%)
  18. Japan: $13 million (1.2%)
  19. Afghanistan: $12.7 million (1.2%)
  20. Iran: $12.2 million (1.1%)

By value, the listed 20 countries bought 86.1% of globally imported cardamoms in 2021.

Among the top importers, the fastest-growing cardamoms importers since 2020 were: Pakistan (up 89.3%), Afghanistan (up 82.9%), mainland China (up 72%) and Iran (up 70.9%).

Those countries that posted declines in their imported cardamoms purchases were led by: Bangladesh (down -48.3%), Kuwait (down -42.2%), Saudi Arabia (down -28.3%), Oman (down -14.2%) and the Netherlands (down -14.2%).

Imported Raw Cardamoms: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2021, the world’s average unit price for imports of non-crushed and unground cardamoms was US$14,257 per ton. That average metric reflects a -23.2% drop from $18,569 per ton for 2020.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of non-crushed and unground cardamoms, Saudi Arabia, was higher at $28,204.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported raw cardamoms in 2021.

  1. Laos: US$715 per ton (up 43% from 2020)
  2. Ethiopia: $1,301 per ton (down -23.8%)
  3. Angola: $1,667 per ton (down -44.4%)
  4. Tunisia: $1,714 per ton (up 10.9%)
  5. Guatemala: $1,998 per ton (down -29.4%)
  6. Belize: $2,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  7. Comoros: $2,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  8. Faroe Islands: $2,800 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  9. Philippines: $2,909 per ton (down -84.7%)
  10. Sri Lanka: $3,000 per ton (down -57.1%)
  11. Kenya: $4,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  12. Uganda: $4,000 per ton (up 140%)
  13. Dominican Republic: $4,129 per ton (up 27.6%)
  14. Turkey: $4,189 per ton (down -41.5%)
  15. Kazakhstan: $4,400 per ton (down -37.1%)

The most intense reductions in average unit price per ton for non-crushed and unground cardamoms from 2020 to 2021 were paid by low-cost importers the Philippines (down -84.7%), Sri Lanka (down -57.1%), Angola (down -44.4%), Turkey (down -41.5%) and Kazakhstan (down -37.1%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported unprocessed cardamoms.

  1. Hong Kong: US$39,226 per ton (up 90.7% from 2020)
  2. Portugal: $39,200 per ton (up 33.6%)
  3. Estonia: $36,786 per ton (down -15.5%)
  4. Switzerland: $36,682 per ton (down -4.1%)
  5. Ireland: $30,455 per ton (up 8.3%)
  6. Hungary: $30,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  7. Saudi Arabia: $28,204 per ton (up 0.3%)
  8. Norway: $28,000 per ton (down -26.4%)
  9. Finland: $27,205 per ton (down -38.1%)
  10. Uruguay: $27,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  11. Maldives: $26,692 per ton (up 76.1%)
  12. Japan: $26,242 per ton (down -18.4%)
  13. Chile: $26,000 per ton (up 5.4%)
  14. Argentina: $25,889 per ton (down -2.3%)
  15. Belarus: $25,000 per ton (up 63.9%)

Four buyer countries posted double-digit accelerations in terms of higher average unit prices paid in 2021 compared to 2020: Hong Kong (up 90.7%), Maldives (up 76.1%), Belarus (up 63.9%) and Portugal (up 33.6%).

Imported Crushed or Ground Cardamoms: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2021, the world’s average unit price for imports of crushed and ground cardamoms was US$16,133 per ton falling -5.5% from $17,067 for 2020.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of crushed and ground cardamoms, also Saudi Arabia, was higher at $25,298.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported crushed and ground cardamoms in 2021.

  1. Senegal: US$111 per ton (down -44.5% from 2020)
  2. Comoros: $500 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  3. Guatemala: $592 per ton (up 64.4%)
  4. Angola: $1,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  5. Pakistan: $1,995 per ton (up 11.5%)
  6. Ethiopia: $2,000 per ton (up 3%)
  7. Namibia: $2,000 per ton (up 100%)
  8. Bangladesh: $2,500 per ton (down -84.7%)
  9. Tajikistan: $3,000 per ton (up 35%)
  10. Bermuda: $3,000 per ton (down -50%)
  11. Kazakhstan: $3,750 per ton (down -76.6%)
  12. Uganda: $4,000 per ton (up 100%)
  13. Bhutan: $4,500 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  14. Panama: $5,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  15. Fiji: $5,111 per ton (down -56.5%)

There were 5 reductions in average unit price paid per ton for crushed and ground cardamoms from 2020 to 2021. The declines belong to low-cost importers in Bangladesh (down -84.7% from 202), Kazakhstan (down -76.6%), Fiji (down -56.5%), Bermuda (down -50%) and Senegal (down -44.5%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported crushed or ground cardamoms.

  1. Finland: US$356,000 per ton (up 47.7% from 2020)
  2. Thailand: $47,000 per ton (down -2.8%)
  3. Portugal: $43,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  4. Ireland: $37,000 per ton (up 12.1%)
  5. Central African Republic: $37,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
  6. Austria: $36,364 per ton (up 9.6%)
  7. Russia: $36,000 per ton (up 2.9%)
  8. Switzerland: $34,905 per ton (up 6.2%)
  9. Estonia: $33,667 per ton (down -5%)
  10. Chile: $32,500 per ton (up 195.5%)
  11. Denmark: $32,121 per ton (down -1.7%)
  12. Japan: $32,000 per ton (up 0.9%)
  13. Lithuania: $30,000 per ton (down -15.3%)
  14. Italy: $29,600 per ton (up 2.1%)
  15. Hong Kong: $29,400 per ton (2020 data unavailable)

The 3 strongest accelerations in terms of higher average unit prices in 2021 compared to 2020 were paid by importers of crushed or ground cardamoms in Chile (up 195.5%), Finland (up 47.7%) and Ireland (up 12.1%).

See also Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Cinnamon Exports by Country, Top Black Pepper Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Cloves Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices and Top Nutmeg Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Cardamoms Showroom. Accessed on January 4, 2023

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on January 4, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 4, 2023

Wikipedia, Cardamom. Accessed on January 4, 2023