Red Chilli Export from India 2026: Buyers, Prices, HS Codes

Red chilli export from India reached 7.15 lakh tonnes in FY2024-25 — a 19% volume jump, even as value slipped 11% to $1.34 billion on cheaper prices (ExportImportData). Chilli is India's single biggest spice export: 27% of the entire $4.43 billion FY2025-26 spice basket, more than double cumin's share (Spices Board). Behind those totals sits a named buyer list — importers in Qingdao, Dhaka, Bangkok and New Jersey, logged shipment by shipment. The totals make headlines. The names make sales.

Most growers who cart their bags to the Guntur yard never see past the commission agent. The exporters compounding fastest work in reverse: pull the shipment records, rank the importers by volume, quote the top ten direct. Here is what the numbers say in 2026, and how to work them.

What does red chilli export from India look like in 2026?

A volume boom running into a supply squeeze. FY2023-24 set the value record for red chilli export from India: $1.5 billion on 6.01 lakh tonnes, up 15%, making chilli roughly 34% of India's spice exports that year (Prokerala/IANS). FY2024-25 then set the tonnage record — 7.15 lakh tonnes — but softer world prices trimmed the value to $1.34 billion (ExportImportData). India's whole spice trade hit $4.72 billion in FY2024-25, and chilli stayed its anchor (IREF).

Now the supply side is tightening. Farmers burnt by two cheap seasons cut chilli acreage from 1.96 lakh hectares to 1.06 lakh hectares, with production estimated at 5.39 lakh tonnes — and premium varieties at Guntur promptly rose 20 to 25% over last year (The Hans India, Jan 2026). Smaller crop, firm export demand: 2026 is a seller's market for anyone holding good Teja.

Which country imports the most red chilli from India?

China imports the most Indian dried chilli — $390.3 million and 142,824 tonnes in 2023 — ahead of Thailand ($164.9M) and Bangladesh ($153.0M), per World Bank WITS. The top buyers by value:

1. China: $390.3 million (142,824 t)
2. Thailand: $164.9 million (56,521 t)
3. Bangladesh: $153.0 million (70,887 t)
4. United States: $126.3 million (33,490 t)
5. Indonesia: $112.9 million (39,540 t)
6. Sri Lanka: $87.8 million (37,555 t)
7. Malaysia: $69.4 million (19,678 t)
8. UAE: $29.7 million (10,903 t)

The lanes keep shifting. In FY2023-24 China took 1.79 lakh tonnes worth ₹4,123 crore — volume up 14%, value up 21% — while Bangladesh surged 67% to 90,570 tonnes from 53,986 a year earlier (Prokerala/IANS). Thailand buys steadily for its sauce and curry-paste industry, and Dhaka's demand swings hardest with its own crop failures, which is exactly when Indian sellers with ready stock win the lane.

Eight countries take the bulk of India's chilli. The importers inside each one are named in shipment records — with tonnages, grades and dates — before your competitor's broker ever mentions them.

Red chilli export to China: why Teja rules Sichuan kitchens

China grows more chilli than almost anyone, yet it has leaned on Indian supply since 2017-18 because Indian fruit simply runs hotter. A decade ago China ranked ninth among India's chilli destinations; today it is the top buyer, and much of Sichuan's signature burn now comes from Andhra fields — "Order any Szechuan dish in China and the odds are that its famously spicy flavour comes from the Guntur chilli" (ThePrint).

The workhorse of the red chilli export to China trade is Teja (S17) — high-capsaicin fruit that Chinese processors grind into sauces, hot-pot bases and chilli oleoresin. Exporters who built the lane describe a specific buying rhythm: Chinese importers book heavily right after Guntur's peak arrivals, spec sheets quoting pungency in SHU, and go quiet once their extraction plants are stocked. Time your offers to that window and you compete on freight; miss it and you compete on desperation.

Guntur: the yard behind half of India's chilli exports

Guntur in Andhra Pradesh operates the largest red chilli market in India and Asia (ExportImportData), and the district alone shipped about $640 million of chilli in 2019-20 — roughly half the national total (ThePrint). In season, the mirchi yard takes around 70,000 bags a day, heading toward 1 lakh at peak (The Hans India). Red chilli exporters in Guntur trade a short menu of varieties, each with its own buyer profile: Teja S17 for heat, Byadgi for colour value, 334 Sannam as the all-rounder, 341 for the masala grinders, and DD (Devanur Deluxe) at the premium end (Guntur Mirchi).

January 2026 yard prices showed the squeeze: DD ₹25,000 per quintal, Badigi ₹23,000, 341 ₹22,500, Teja ₹20,500 (The Hans India). By early April, Teja A/C grade had eased to about ₹17,000 per quintal as arrivals built (KisanDeals). One habit separates the exporters from the traders here: they quote against the destination's spec — SHU for China, ASTA colour for the US and EU paprika-style buyers — not against the yard board alone.

Half of India's chilli exports start within a few kilometres of one Andhra market yard. The other half of the trade — who actually receives those containers — sits in the shipment data.

Dried chilli HS codes: 090421 and 090422

Whole dried chilli — neither crushed nor ground — ships under HS 090421; crushed or ground chilli and chilli powder ship under HS 090422. India's 8-digit ITC-HS schedule refines the split: 09042110 covers dried chilli, 09042211 chilli powder, and 09042219 other ground capsicum products (ExportImportData). Older statistical series, including the WITS destination data above, still aggregate under the legacy six-digit head 090420.

Search discipline matters: query 090421 alone and you miss every powder buyer; search the text string "chilli" and you inherit restaurants and sauce brands. Run both codes, then filter by product description. New to the classification system? Start with our guide to what an HS code is and how to use it.

Red chilli export from India: the ShipScout buyer workflow

ShipScout is a global trade-intelligence platform — 11 billion-plus shipment records across 240+ countries, built as an affordable alternative to Panjiva and ImportGenius. It helps Indian spice exporters find and vet buyers with data-backed targeting, working from mirrored licensed trade data for India-linked trade. The chilli workflow:

• Search HS 090421 and 090422. See which importers are receiving dried chilli and powder right now, at what cadence and volume. Start in the company directory.
• Rank buyers inside one lane. A Chinese importer clearing Teja monthly outranks ten one-off buyers — sort by tonnage and work the top of the list.
• Vet before extending credit. Confirm a buyer's real shipment history first — here's how to verify an international partner before paying.
• Reach the decision-maker. Contact intelligence (where available) beats the info@ inbox; the broader playbook is in finding buyers for export from India and the food & agro buyer guide.

The same play runs across the spice basket — turmeric and cumin exporters use identical moves. Open your first email with the buyer's own numbers: grade, tonnage, month, current origin. Replies change when an importer realises you can see their purchasing. Red chilli export from India is a $1.34 billion trade whose buyer list is already written — Start a free trial and search HS 090421 to read it.