India, the World's Largest Producer of Spices

For a long time, spices have been a leading commodity in global trade. Their high economic value led the Netherlands to colonize Indonesia for hundreds of years to trade in the country's spice products.

Spices are aromatic or strongly flavored parts of plants used in small quantities in food as preservatives or flavorings in cooking. Spices are usually distinguished from other plants used for similar purposes, such as medicinal plants, aromatic vegetables, and dried fruits.

Most countries in the world import spices from India because India is the world's largest spice center. Besides India, there are a number of other major spice-producing countries, including Indonesia.

Here is a list of the largest spice-producing countries based on data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):

1. India

Spices play a significant role in India's economy. As both a producer and one of the world's largest exporters, India produced 1.49 million tons of spices in 2020.

2. Ethiopia

In 2020, Ethiopia produced 311,400 tons of spices, placing it second. Although its production is significantly lower than India's, spice production in the country increased by 18.8% compared to 2019, when it produced 261,900 tons.

3. Bangladesh

Spice production in Bangladesh ranked third with 309,500 tons in 2020. Production increased sharply by 78% from 2019, when it was only 173,800 tons.

4. Turkey

Turkey's spice production dropped to 4th place in 2020. The previous year, the country was among the top three. Nevertheless, spice production in Turkey increased by 5.5% from 260,500 tons in 2019 to 274,800 tons in 2020.

5. Indonesia

Spice production in Indonesia recorded 191,400 tons in 2020. Compared to 218,000 tons in 2019, spice production in Indonesia decreased by 12.2%.

Not only is Indonesia one of the largest spice producers, it is also one of the world's largest spice suppliers, ranking 9th in 2020 with a value of US$1.02 billion.

6. China

A strong producer and exporter, China produced 102,500 tons of spices in 2020. Production was not significantly different from 2019, when it was 102,100 tons.

7. Pakistan

Pakistan experienced a 4.6% increase in spice production from 76,000 tons in 2019. In 2020, Pakistan produced 79,500 tons.

8. Colombia

Spice production in Colombia in 2020 grew by 57.6% to 33,100 tons from only 21,000 tons in 2019.

9. Nepal

Spice production in Nepal in 2020 was recorded at 21,610 tons. Production was almost the same as the previous year, which was 21,620 tons.

10. Myanmar

Unlike Nepal, spice production in Myanmar decreased by 16% from 24,400 tons in 2019 to 20,400 tons in 2020.

(Also read: [List of the World's Largest Spice Suppliers, Indonesia's Ranking?](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2021/11/19/daftar-negara-pemasok-rempah-rempah-terbesar-dunia-indonesia-peringkat-berapa))