Bangladesh Tops List for Indian Spice Imports

01-Jul-2026 04:14 PM

Kochi. During the 2025-26 fiscal year, India's exports of spices and spice products saw a decline in both volume and earnings, primarily due to reduced imports of red chili and cumin by China.

However, exports to certain other countries increased; for instance, exports of black pepper and turmeric to the US performed well. Spice exports to Bangladesh rose to exceed 3 lakh tonnes.

Data from the Spices Board indicates that while the US generated the highest revenue from Indian spice exports during the 2025-26 fiscal year (April-March), China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked second and third, respectively. Interestingly, although Bangladesh received the largest volume of exports, it ranked fourth in terms of export earnings.

According to available data, spice exports from India during the April 2025–March 2026 period stood at 305,401 tonnes to Bangladesh, 243,971 tonnes to China, 162,968 tonnes to the UAE, and 115,113 tonnes to the US.

Additionally, shipments during this period included 81,468 tonnes to Indonesia, 68,699 tonnes to Malaysia, 65,480 tonnes to Thailand, 35,138 tonnes to the UK, and 17,604 tonnes to Germany. These ten countries were the largest buyers of Indian spices; however, the ranking based on earnings differed due to variations in the export of high-value versus low-value spices to different markets.