Spices

In 2025, worldwide exports of the crushed or ground spices studied in this article totaled US$4.74 billion.

That dollar amount results from a 26.7% increase compared to $3.74 billion 5 years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the total value of the crushed or ground spices declined by -9.6% versus $4.54 billion starting in 2024.

The top 5 spices exports ranked by overall international sales are crushed or ground peppercorn, pepper, spice mixtures, turmeric and saffron. Collectively, those exported spice commodities represent over fourth-fifths (81.4%) of spices sold on international markets down from 82.6% for 2024.

In addition to total export sales, this article delves into which major spices are the biggest exports in terms of the most valuable based on unit value per ton shipped as well as shipment weight.

For research purposes, the Harmonized System (HS) codes for crushed or ground: peppercorn is 090422, spice mixtures is 091091, turmeric is 091030, pepper is 090412, saffron is 091020, cinnamon is 090620, ginger is 090620, vanilla is 090520, nutmeg is 090812, cardamoms is 090832, cumin seeds is 090932, coriander seeds is 090922, and cloves is 090720.

Listed below are the most valuable crushed or ground spices exported in 2025 ranked by total sales for each product category.

Also shown is percentage that each entry represents based on the overall value of crushed or ground exported spices.

In terms of export revenues, double-digit percentage gains were recorded for pepper (up 41% from 2024), ginger (up 22.4%), cardamoms (up 18.7%) then cinnamon (up 11.7%).

The severest year-over-year decliners were the international sales for cloves (down -19.2% from 2024), cumin seeds (down -14%), nutmeg (down -9.7%), peppercorn (down -9.6%) and the warm, aromatic, slightly sweet and peppery spice mace (down -6%).

Below, the most valuable spices as measured by average unit price per ton shipped are showcased.

The average unit value for the crushed or ground spices categories presented in this article was US$12,032 per ton in 2025. The average unit value for spices inflated by 2.6% compared to an average $11,740 one year earlier for 2024.

Ranked in descending order, listed below are the spices with the highest unit values in 2025.

Four among the listed spices recorded unit values higher than the worldwide average of $12,302 per ton.

Saffron remains as the world’s costliest spice as measured by unit price is saffron which has many health benefits. The spice involves higher farming expenses due to manual labour required to delicately extract by hand threads from the saffron flower.

Over a 5-year period, the strongest inflation in terms of unit value per ton were generated by ginger (up 29.5% from 2021), pepper (up 84.8%), cumin seeds (up 39.7%), cardamoms (up 33.3%) and turmeric (up 30.5%).

Recording the severest declines in unit value per ton were vanilla (down -53.8% since 2021), cinnamon (down -15.7%) then mace (down -13%).

The 5 heaviest shipments of spices by tonnage are comprised of peppercorn, turmeric which is a key ingredient in curry powder, spice mixtures, pepper and ginger.

Collectively, that quintet of major spices represents 88.9% of all spices shipped by weight in 2025.

See also Top Garlic Exports by Country, Top Ginger Exporters by Country, Onions Exports by Country, Top Pickles Exporters by Country and Top Salt Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 3, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 3, 2026

Wikipedia, Saffron. Accessed on July 3, 2026

Wikipedia, Spice. Accessed on July 3, 2026

Wikipedia, Turmeric. Accessed on July 3, 2026