The EU imported 397,000 tonnes of spices from extra-EU countries in 2022, with China being the primary source of spices, contributing 38% to the total imports of spices into the EU.

According to a Eurostat press release, the most imported spice was ginger with 122,900 tonnes, followed by paprika (109,800 tonnes) and pepper (62,900 tonnes). China was the main country of origin for ginger (54%) and paprika (72%), while pepper was mainly imported from Vietnam (56%).

It is added that cinnamon imports (16,200 tonnes) ranked fourth, with more than one-third originating from Indonesia (37%), turmeric (15,800 tonnes) held the fifth position among the most imported spices, with the majority of imports coming from India (77%), while Egypt was the main supplier (34%) for anise and related spices (13,600 tonnes).

It is also noted that cumin seeds (9,600 tonnes) came largely from India (72%), followed by coriander seeds (9,500 tonnes), half of which were imported from Russia (50%), and nutmeg (4,400 tonnes) predominantly imported from Indonesia (72%).

Compared with 2012, the weight of the spices imported from the extra-EU countries increased by more than half (+57%), with EU imports of ginger and turmeric more than doubling (+149% and +142% respectively) and recording the largest increase among the most traded spices. Only imports of nutmeg decreased by -4% since 2012, Eurostat concludes.