In the morning mist of Zhaoqing Gaoyao, the "Xijiang Cinnamon Corridor" stretches across 700,500 acres of undulating cinnamon forests. This mountainous expanse, cradling the hope of "China's Famous Cinnamon County," is shipping 144,600 tons of cinnamon bark to tables around the world. By 2025, China's cinnamon export industry, leveraging its natural resources, comprehensive chain upgrades, and quality breakthroughs, will carve out a distinctive advantage in the global spice market.
Natural endowments create inherent advantages. China maintains its position as a core production hub with 40% of the global supply. Subtropical mountainous regions in areas like Gaoyao, Guangdong, and Guangxi boast optimal sunlight and humidity conditions, yielding cinnamon granules bark with thick layers and abundant oil—its cinnamaldehyde content far exceeding international averages. These innate qualities make Gaoyao cinnamon granules the source of 90% of the cinnamon granules flavoring used by Coca-Cola and a "flavor secret" for international brands like Starbucks and Lee Kum Kee. In contrast, competitors such as Vietnam and Indonesia, constrained by fragmented cultivation and climate volatility, struggle to ensure stable supply. China's 70% share of global production further highlights this advantage.
The full industrial chain upgrade unleashes value potential. From standardized planting bases under the "Five Unifications" standard to advanced processing workshops, China has established a complete chain spanning from seedling cultivation to trade distribution. In Gao Yao District, a 3,000-acre base achieved a 23% increase in yield per mu through unified field management. Meanwhile, deep processing of cinnamon granules bark led to a qualitative leap in profits: the export profit margin for raw materials was only 1%-2%, while processing into cinnamon powder soared to 50%, with cinnamon granules reaching a peak price of 240,000 yuan per ton. Enterprises like Jiangxi's "Jihao Ren" brand leveraged HACCP international certification to sell deep-processed products to high-end markets in Japan and South Korea, with exports growing by 25% year-on-year in 2025, demonstrating the foreign trade value of industrial chain extension.
The trend of healthy consumption amplifies competitive advantages. Global demand for natural flavors is expanding at an annual rate of 5%-8%, with cinnamon's antioxidant and blood sugar-regulating properties being highly favored. Chinese enterprises have accurately seized this trend, expanding from food flavoring to the health supplement sector, with the export share of organic-certified products rising from 12.4% in 2023 to 15.8%. This transformation from "raw material supply" to "health solutions" enables Chinese spilt cinnamon to continuously capture global incremental market space, building upon a domestic market of 15 billion yuan.
Cassia bark connects forests with the world. In 2025, China's spilt cinnamon foreign trade, rooted in resources, driven by industry, and guided by quality, is crafting a "Made in China" olfactory legend in the global spice trade.
Post time: Nov-07-2025
