Spice agriculture spans high-volume chilli and ginger crops, lower-volume vanilla and cloves, and broad FAOSTAT groupings such as coriander, cumin and fennel. In 2023, global production ranged from 7,193.55 tonnes of raw vanilla to 44,435,432.35 tonnes of green chillies and peppers. These figures describe raw agricultural products, not processed spice-powder output.
Contents
- Global production
- Harvested area
- Reported yields
- Leading production countries
- Leading harvested-area countries
- Reading the figures
Global production
The 2023 worldwide totals show a wide scale difference between spice categories. Green chillies and peppers were the largest listed crop by production, while vanilla occupied the smallest end of the range.
| Crop or FAOSTAT group | 2023 global production |
|---|---|
| Green chillies and peppers | 44,435,432.35 t |
| Dry chillies and peppers | 5,301,129.50 t |
| Ginger | 4,788,904.67 t |
| Anise, badian, coriander, cumin, caraway, fennel and juniper berries | 2,250,152.10 t |
| Mustard seed | 923,960.52 t |
| Pepper (Piper spp.) | 905,455.38 t |
| Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers | 240,516.33 t |
| Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms | 218,248.95 t |
| Cloves | 184,040.05 t |
| Vanilla | 7,193.55 t |
Source: FAOSTAT, Production Crops and Livestock E All Data (Normalized), 2023.
Green chillies and peppers reached 44,435,432.35 tonnes worldwide. The category covers Capsicum spp. and Pimenta spp. and is reported separately from dry chillies and peppers, whose total was 5,301,129.50 tonnes. Ginger reached 4,788,904.67 tonnes. The broad anise-through-juniper grouping reached 2,250,152.10 tonnes, but this grouped commodity row does not identify the contribution of each named spice.
Mustard seed and pepper were similar in scale, at 923,960.52 tonnes and 905,455.38 tonnes. Cinnamon reached 240,516.33 tonnes, while nutmeg, mace and cardamoms reached 218,248.95 tonnes. Cloves were reported at 184,040.05 tonnes. Vanilla was the smallest listed crop, at 7,193.55 tonnes.
Harvested area
Harvested area provides a different view from production volume. In 2023, green chillies and peppers occupied 2,776,674 hectares worldwide. The anise-through-juniper grouping covered 2,135,211 hectares, and dry chillies and peppers covered 1,765,618 hectares.
| Crop or FAOSTAT group | 2023 harvested area |
|---|---|
| Green chillies and peppers | 2,776,674 ha |
| Anise, badian, coriander, cumin, caraway, fennel and juniper berries | 2,135,211 ha |
| Dry chillies and peppers | 1,765,618 ha |
| Mustard seed | 980,113 ha |
| Pepper (Piper spp.) | 838,476 ha |
| Cloves | 701,970 ha |
| Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms | 621,953 ha |
| Ginger | 435,333 ha |
| Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers | 364,322 ha |
| Vanilla | 93,841 ha |
Source: FAOSTAT, Production Crops and Livestock E All Data (Normalized), 2023.
The area figures show why production totals alone do not describe the agricultural footprint of a spice. Cloves had 701,970 harvested hectares, more than ginger’s 435,333 hectares, even though reported global production was 184,040.05 tonnes for cloves compared with 4,788,904.67 tonnes for ginger.
Vanilla had the smallest harvested area in the group at 93,841 hectares. Cinnamon covered 364,322 hectares, and nutmeg, mace and cardamoms covered 621,953 hectares. Mustard seed, at 980,113 hectares, occupied more reported area than pepper, at 838,476 hectares. These measurements refer to harvested area for the named raw commodity rows in 2023, not storage space or retail inventory.
Reported yields
FAOSTAT reported yields in kilograms per hectare for each crop group. The figures vary substantially because the categories represent different crops and raw agricultural products.
| Crop or FAOSTAT group | 2023 reported yield |
|---|---|
| Green chillies and peppers | 16,003.10 kg/ha |
| Ginger | 11,000.60 kg/ha |
| Dry chillies and peppers | 3,002.40 kg/ha |
| Pepper (Piper spp.) | 1,079.90 kg/ha |
| Anise, badian, coriander, cumin, caraway, fennel and juniper berries | 1,053.80 kg/ha |
| Mustard seed | 942.70 kg/ha |
| Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers | 660.20 kg/ha |
| Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms | 350.90 kg/ha |
| Cloves | 262.20 kg/ha |
| Vanilla | 76.70 kg/ha |
Source: FAOSTAT, Production Crops and Livestock E All Data (Normalized), 2023.
Green chillies and peppers had the highest reported yield, at 16,003.10 kilograms per hectare. Ginger followed at 11,000.60 kg/ha. Dry chillies and peppers were reported at 3,002.40 kg/ha, while pepper (Piper spp.) reached 1,079.90 kg/ha.
The anise-through-juniper row had a reported yield of 1,053.80 kg/ha. Mustard seed was reported at 942.70 kg/ha, and cinnamon at 660.20 kg/ha. The lowest reported yield was vanilla, at 76.70 kg/ha. Cloves were reported at 262.20 kg/ha, and nutmeg, mace and cardamoms at 350.90 kg/ha. These are raw-commodity yields, not estimates of culinary potency or finished spice after processing.
Leading production countries
India was the leading country listed for several 2023 production rows: 1,703,183.00 tonnes for the anise-through-juniper grouping, 2,782,000.00 tonnes of dry chillies and peppers, and 2,201,000.00 tonnes of ginger. China led green chillies and peppers with 17,361,128.25 tonnes and cinnamon with 91,893.23 tonnes. Indonesia led cloves with 133,408.00 tonnes.
| Crop or group | Leading country listed | 2023 production |
|---|---|---|
| Anise through juniper berries | India | 1,703,183.00 t |
| Dry chillies and peppers | India | 2,782,000.00 t |
| Green chillies and peppers | China | 17,361,128.25 t |
| Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers | China | 91,893.23 t |
| Cloves | Indonesia | 133,408.00 t |
| Ginger | India | 2,201,000.00 t |
| Mustard seed | Nepal | 208,542.00 t |
| Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms | Guatemala | 96,409.23 t |
| Pepper (Piper spp.) | Viet Nam | 257,427.11 t |
| Vanilla | Madagascar | 3,103.11 t |
Source: FAOSTAT, Production Crops and Livestock E All Data (Normalized), 2023.
Nepal led the listed mustard seed production, with 208,542.00 tonnes. Guatemala led nutmeg, mace and cardamoms with 96,409.23 tonnes. Viet Nam led pepper with 257,427.11 tonnes, and Madagascar led vanilla with 3,103.11 tonnes. “Leading country listed” concerns country rows in the source and excludes FAO regional and income-group aggregates.
Leading harvested-area countries
India led the listed harvested area for the anise-through-juniper grouping, at 1,736,508 hectares; dry chillies and peppers, at 852,000 hectares; ginger, at 191,000 hectares; and pepper, at 299,000 hectares. China led green chillies and peppers with 769,350 hectares. Viet Nam led cinnamon with 190,620 hectares, while Indonesia led cloves with 575,217 hectares.
| Crop or group | Leading country listed | 2023 harvested area |
|---|---|---|
| Anise through juniper berries | India | 1,736,508 ha |
| Dry chillies and peppers | India | 852,000 ha |
| Green chillies and peppers | China | 769,350 ha |
| Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers | Viet Nam | 190,620 ha |
| Cloves | Indonesia | 575,217 ha |
| Ginger | India | 191,000 ha |
| Mustard seed | Canada | 250,600 ha |
| Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms | Indonesia | 282,140 ha |
| Pepper (Piper spp.) | India | 299,000 ha |
| Vanilla | Madagascar | 74,774 ha |
Source: FAOSTAT, Production Crops and Livestock E All Data (Normalized), 2023.
Canada was the leading country listed for mustard seed area, at 250,600 hectares. Indonesia led nutmeg, mace and cardamoms area with 282,140 hectares, and Madagascar led vanilla area with 74,774 hectares.
The leading harvested-area country is not always the leading production country. Viet Nam led cinnamon area, while China led cinnamon production. Canada led mustard seed area, while Nepal led production. Indonesia led nutmeg, mace and cardamom area, while Guatemala led production.
Reading the figures
The source reports commodity rows as raw agricultural products. A tonne of raw crop is not necessarily a tonne of finished retail spice. The categories also vary in breadth: the anise-through-juniper row combines several commodities, the nutmeg row combines three products, and chilli categories distinguish green from dry crops.
The 2023 values are presented as published, without derived calculations. Production and harvested-area leaders are country rows only and exclude FAO regional and income-group aggregates. Keeping the year, geography, commodity definition and raw-product scope attached to each number is essential when using spice statistics for pantry planning, food writing or agricultural comparison.