As the world's largest producer of chili peppers, China will have a significant advantage in the supply of chili powder raw materials by 2025. The main production areas in the southwest (Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan) and the northern production areas (Shandong, Xinjiang) have formed a differentiated layout: Guizhou Xiazi chili has become a "hard currency" in the international market with stable spiciness and bright red color, while Yunnan Dehong's fresh chili is directly transported to Southeast Asia through cross-border cold chain within 48 hours. The application of biotechnology promotes variety upgrading, and the planting area of drought resistant chili peppers is expected to increase to 30%. Functional varieties such as high vitamin C and low spiciness meet the demand for healthy consumption. Qiubei chili has cultivated 91 new varieties through purification and propagation techniques, obtained 3 organic certifications, and produced over 100 products, demonstrating the dual advantages of variety innovation and quality certification.
The processing capacity of Chinese chili powder continues to upgrade, and the automated sorting and processing center has reduced the raw material loss rate from 15% to 7.8%. The coverage rate of cold chain logistics has increased to 82%, effectively supporting the penetration rate increase in emerging markets such as East China and South China. Jiaozhou has built 12 automated processing centers, with an annual processing capacity of over 1.2 million tons of chili peppers. The products cover a full range of products including ordinary chili powder, organic chili powder, and composite seasoning powder. Among them, the production capacity of organic chili powder accounts for 24%, which is in line with the global trend of healthy consumption.
The breakthrough in deep processing technology significantly enhances the added value of products. Capsaicin extraction technology increases the added value of chili pepper by 10 times per kilogram, and the products are widely used in the fields of medical pain relief and cosmetic fat burning. The global market size of capsaicin is expected to exceed 2 billion US dollars by 2025, with China accounting for 35%. The application of freeze-drying technology has expanded product forms. Freeze dried chili pepper have entered the high-end European and American markets with their high rehydration and flavor retention advantages. The market size of chili oil resin is expected to reach 4.5 billion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% by 2030.
The accelerated release of RCEP policy dividends has significantly enhanced the competitiveness of Chinese chili pepper powder in the markets of Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. South Korea imports 40% of Chinese chili pepper powder, and under the RCEP framework, the tariff on ground chili pepper powder has been reduced from 9% to 7.9%. Dalian horseradish products have a first-year tariff discount of 0.6%, ultimately achieving zero tariffs. Jiaozhou City innovatively formulated an export subsidy policy, providing a logistics subsidy of 100 yuan per ton of chili pepper exports, which will drive a 75% increase in export value by 2024.
The breakthrough of the international certification system paves the way for Chinese dried chili powder to enter the high-end market. The dried chili industry in Jiaozhou has mastered more than 300 pesticide residue standards in Japan and international regulations such as EU restrictions on the use of biotin. The export qualification rate of products has increased from 78% in 2024 to 92% in 2030. Guizhou Xiazi dried chili, Henan Zhecheng Chaotian dried chili and other geographical indication products have been included in the China Europe Geographical Indication Agreement and have obtained official certification in the EU market, increasing their premium capacity by 15%.
The global dried chili powder market is showing a dual trend of "consumption upgrading" and "regional expansion". The global dried chili powder market is expected to reach $12.04 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%. Demand from emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East is expected to surge, and China's fresh pepper exports will exceed 100000 tons by 2024, a year-on-year increase of 82%, mainly supplied to Russia, South Korea, and Central Asian countries. The African and Middle Eastern markets have emerged as a new growth pole, with exports surging by 41% year-on-year from January to June 2025.
Facing competitors such as India and Mexico, China builds advantages through quality and differentiation. Although India leads in the export volume of dried red pepper, China's Zhecheng red pepper and Zunyi Chaotian red pepper have been included in the China Europe Geographical Indication Agreement due to their stable quality, and have obtained official certification in the EU market. Although Mexico dominates fresh pepper exports, China fills the supply gap through off-season planting and cold chain technology. In April 2025, exports of dried peppers to Mexico increased by 22.55% month on month. At the same time, Chinese red pepper products occupy an important share of the international market with their price advantage, with an export value of 2 billion US dollars in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%, forming a stable position in Southeast Asian, European and American markets.
The foreign trade advantage of Chinese red pepper is essentially the result of collaborative innovation across the entire industry chain: from variety research and development to processing upgrades, from policy support to logistics innovation, from market development to sustainable development, breakthroughs in every link are reshaping the global red pepper trade pattern. In the wave of globalization of spicy food, China is transforming from a "production powerhouse" to a "value powerhouse", providing Chinese solutions and wisdom for the global red pepper industry.
Post time: Jun-05-2025