That dollar amount results from an average 12.1% increase in value compared to $5.45 billion in 2018.
Year over year, global sales of sweet or chili peppers fell by -7.5% compared to $6.61 billion for 2021.
The 5 largest exporters of sweet or chili peppers by dollar value are Spain, Mexico, Netherlands, Canada and the United States of America. Collectively, that powerful cohort of pepper suppliers generated about three-quarters (75.4%) of total sweet or chili peppers exported during 2022. Such a high percentage suggests a relatively concentrated set of global suppliers.
From a continental perspective, exporters in Europe shipped the highest dollar worth of peppers during 2022 with shipments valued at $2.91 billion or approaching half (47.7%) of the world’s total. In second place was North America at 35.6% while another 12.2% of globally exported peppers originated from Asian exporters.
Tinier percentages came from sellers in Africa (3.4%), Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.2%) specifically New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 070960 for fresh or chilled peppers. That code prefix encompasses both sweet peppers and chili peppers.
Peppers Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of peppers during 2022.
- Spain: US$1.42 billion (23.1% of total exported peppers)
- Mexico: $1.39 billion (22.7%)
- Netherlands: $1 billion (16.7%)
- Canada: $509.3 million (8.3%)
- United States: $276.4 million (4.5%)
- Türkiye: $201.5 million (3.3%)
- Morocco: $185.2 million (3%)
- China: $144.6 million (2.4%)
- France: $86.1 million (1.4%)
- Belgium: $82.8 million (1.4%)
- South Korea: $75 million (1.2%)
- Austria: $70.9 million (1.2%)
- Israel: $69.4 million (1.1%)
- Thailand: $48.6 million (0.8%)
- India: $47.1 million (0.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 91.9% of globally exported peppers in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of peppers since 2021 were: Austria (up 409.7%), mainland China (up 71%), India (up 15.3%) and Morocco (up 11.1%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of peppers were led by: Israel (down -33.5% from 2021), Thailand (down -29%), South Korea (down -11.7%), Netherlands (down -11.1%) and Spain (down -10.7%).
Searchable List of Sweet/Chili Pepper Exporting Countries in 2022
The following 100 key exporters of sweet or chili peppers accounted for 99.992% of all shipments of those commodities by value during 2022.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Peppers | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Spain | $1,415,226,000 | -10.7% |
| 2. | Mexico | $1,388,239,000 | -9.2% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $1,020,541,000 | -11.1% |
| 4. | Canada | $509,273,000 | +3.2% |
| 5. | United States | $276,439,000 | -3.2% |
| 6. | Türkiye | $201,453,000 | +1.9% |
| 7. | Morocco | $185,168,000 | +11.1% |
| 8. | China | $144,619,000 | +71% |
| 9. | France | $86,060,000 | -3.4% |
| 10. | Belgium | $82,770,000 | +5.4% |
| 11. | South Korea | $74,993,000 | -11.7% |
| 12. | Austria | $70,917,000 | +409.7% |
| 13. | Israel | $69,375,000 | -33.5% |
| 14. | Thailand | $48,602,000 | -29% |
| 15. | India | $47,082,000 | +15.3% |
| 16. | Germany | $45,571,000 | -14.6% |
| 17. | Poland | $35,685,000 | +42.4% |
| 18. | Myanmar | $34,389,000 | +118.2% |
| 19. | Iran | $30,552,000 | -50.5% |
| 20. | Hungary | $29,141,000 | -21.9% |
| 21. | Jordan | $28,951,000 | -22.9% |
| 22. | Honduras | $28,282,000 | -47.6% |
| 23. | Italy | $26,399,000 | -19% |
| 24. | Greece | $26,300,000 | -21.4% |
| 25. | Vietnam | $24,135,000 | -53.3% |
| 26. | Dominican Republic | $20,624,000 | -26.5% |
| 27. | North Macedonia | $15,498,000 | +1.4% |
| 28. | Armenia | $13,630,000 | +188.1% |
| 29. | Czech Republic | $10,668,000 | +5.6% |
| 30. | Bulgaria | $9,300,000 | -33.1% |
| 31. | New Zealand | $8,736,000 | -34% |
| 32. | Uzbekistan | $7,759,000 | +5.1% |
| 33. | Guatemala | $7,632,000 | -27.2% |
| 34. | Malaysia | $7,499,000 | -3.4% |
| 35. | Portugal | $6,817,000 | +64.8% |
| 36. | Egypt | $6,101,000 | +19.5% |
| 37. | Serbia | $5,694,000 | -12.7% |
| 38. | Albania | $5,369,000 | -65.3% |
| 39. | Latvia | $4,002,000 | -0.9% |
| 40. | Uganda | $3,890,000 | +27686% |
| 41. | El Salvador | $3,609,000 | +0.1% |
| 42. | Croatia | $2,748,000 | -18.2% |
| 43. | Denmark | $2,696,000 | -8.2% |
| 44. | Lithuania | $2,473,000 | -41.4% |
| 45. | Kyrgyzstan | $2,471,000 | +109.1% |
| 46. | Senegal | $2,263,000 | -5.4% |
| 47. | Tunisia | $2,252,000 | -45.5% |
| 48. | South Africa | $2,220,000 | -26.3% |
| 49. | Laos | $2,045,000 | -18.4% |
| 50. | Slovenia | $1,925,000 | -35.2% |
| 51. | United Kingdom | $1,783,000 | -10.1% |
| 52. | Slovakia | $1,596,000 | -17.9% |
| 53. | Romania | $1,542,000 | +135.8% |
| 54. | Australia | $1,268,000 | -8.4% |
| 55. | Ireland | $1,205,000 | -25.1% |
| 56. | Saudi Arabia | $1,169,000 | -36.4% |
| 57. | Peru | $1,122,000 | -8.8% |
| 58. | Oman | $944,000 | -5.7% |
| 59. | Kenya | $896,000 | -29.4% |
| 60. | Nicaragua | $887,000 | -31.9% |
| 61. | Gambia | $799,000 | 0% |
| 62. | Singapore | $781,000 | +44.9% |
| 63. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $756,000 | +2.6% |
| 64. | Brazil | $708,000 | +40.2% |
| 65. | Jamaica | $699,000 | -26% |
| 66. | Luxembourg | $680,000 | +9.7% |
| 67. | Sweden | $630,000 | -40.7% |
| 68. | Syria | $607,000 | -79% |
| 69. | Trinidad/Tobago | $585,000 | +1.4% |
| 70. | Bangladesh | $541,000 | -19.9% |
| 71. | Zimbabwe | $496,000 | +675% |
| 72. | Kazakhstan | $466,000 | +13.4% |
| 73. | Argentina | $463,000 | -4.3% |
| 74. | Namibia | $405,000 | +3.3% |
| 75. | Cuba | $383,000 | -38.4% |
| 76. | Afghanistan | $367,000 | +491.9% |
| 77. | Rwanda | $341,000 | -50.9% |
| 78. | Georgia | $284,000 | +83.2% |
| 79. | Sri Lanka | $263,000 | +2.7% |
| 80. | Pakistan | $254,000 | +2.8% |
| 81. | United Arab Emirates | $252,000 | -98.7% |
| 82. | Ivory Coast | $250,000 | -12.9% |
| 83. | Russia | $239,000 | -86.8% |
| 84. | Mali | $238,000 | +96.7% |
| 85. | Moldova | $237,000 | +811.5% |
| 86. | Lebanon | $236,000 | +59.5% |
| 87. | Indonesia | $235,000 | -58% |
| 88. | Taiwan | $222,000 | +54.2% |
| 89. | Ecuador | $215,000 | -25.6% |
| 90. | Burundi | $211,000 | +10450% |
| 91. | Turkmenistan | $209,000 | +57.1% |
| 92. | Madagascar | $176,000 | -8.3% |
| 93. | Finland | $160,000 | -28.3% |
| 94. | Colombia | $148,000 | +52.6% |
| 95. | Fiji | $130,000 | -29% |
| 96. | Tanzania | $105,000 | +25% |
| 97. | Belarus | $103,000 | -98.8% |
| 98. | Azerbaijan | $90,000 | +181.3% |
| 99. | Ghana | $82,000 | -5.7% |
| 100. | Estonia | $71,000 | -26.8% |
Focusing on the 100 major sellers of sweet or chili peppers, the fastest growers since 2021 were Uganda (up 27,686%), Burundi (up 10,450%), Moldova (up 811.5%), Zimbabwe (up 675%), Afghanistan (up 491.1%) then Austria (up 409.7%).
Countries Earning Best Trade Surpluses from Peppers
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for sweet or chili peppers during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported peppers and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Mexico: US$1.4 billion (net export surplus down -9.3% since 2021)
- Spain: $1.3 billion (down -12.5%)
- Netherlands: $822.1 million (down -10.5%)
- Türkiye: $200.3 million (up 1.9%)
- Canada: $191.4 million (up 8.8%)
- Morocco: $185.1 million (up 11.1%)
- mainland China: $101.4 million (up 244%)
- South Korea: $75 million (down -11.7%)
- Israel: $60.5 million (down -40.5%)
- India: $47 million (up 15.1%)
- Myanmar: $34.4 million (up 118.1%)
- Iran: $30.5 million (down -50.5%)
- Jordan: $28.9 million (down -22.9%)
- Honduras: $27.8 million (down -48.4%)
- Dominican Republic: $20.6 million (down -25.8%)
Mexico achieved the world’s highest surplus in the international trade of sweet or chili peppers. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Mexican competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Peppers
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for peppers during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported peppers purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$1.7 billion (net export deficit down -1.2% since 2021)
- Germany: -$850.1 million (down -13.2%)
- United Kingdom: -$518.7 million (up 9.6%)
- France: -$233.7 million (up 3.6%)
- Russia: -$123.9 million (down -17.9%)
- Italy: -$109.4 million (up 2.5%)
- Poland: -$101 million (down -13.5%)
- Switzerland: -$93.8 million (down -8.5%)
- Japan: -$88.3 million (down -23.3%)
- Romania: -$79.2 million (up 5.7%)
- Sweden: -$78.9 million (down -14.2%)
- Czech Republic: -$78.5 million (down -4%)
- Austria: -$64.4 million (down -10.2%)
- Norway: -$63 million (down -9.5%)
- Denmark: -$55.5 million (down -11%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of peppers. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for peppers-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Peppers Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are also examples of companies that trade sweet and/or chili peppers including seeds. The home-country location is shown within parentheses.
- Alfafood GmbH (Germany)
- American Top Foods LLC (United States)
- Boumamar Trading (Netherlands)
- Cannery Row SL (Spain)
- Henan Alchemy Food Co, Ltd (China)
- Mave Enterprises Inc (United States)
- Shanxi Qinghe Trading Co, Ltd (China)
- TMEM (France)
- Vast Exporters (India)
- Viet Star Import Export Company Limited (Vietnam)
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2021 data was unavailable.
See also Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Tomatoes Exports by Country, Potatoes Exports by Country and Corn Exports by Country and Onions Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, supplier information for peppers. Accessed on September 20, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 20, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 20, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 20, 2023
Wikipedia, Bell Pepper. Accessed on September 20, 2023
Wikipedia, Chili Pepper. Accessed on September 20, 2023
