The European Union's appetite for spices is hotter than ever, with imports reaching nearly 340,000 tonnes in 2023, driven largely by ginger, paprika, and pepper from top suppliers like China and Vietnam.

The European Union maintains a hot appetite for spices, with 2023 seeing a whopping 339,800 tonnes of spices imported from countries outside the bloc. Leading the spice boom, China has emerged as the top supplier, contributing an impressive 39% of all EU spice imports, according to a recent Eurostat report.

The EU's most-loved spice? Ginger, with imports hitting 114,000 tonnes, primarily sourced from China, which provided 43% of the total. Close behind was paprika at 110,600 tonnes, with a staggering 73% coming from China. Pepper rounded out the top three, with 50,300 tonnes imported, largely thanks to Vietnam, which supplied 63% of this culinary staple.

Ranking fourth, turmeric imports reached 16,000 tonnes, with India dominating the market as the origin of 79% of the EU’s supply. Cinnamon followed in fifth place, with 13,300 tonnes imported, largely from Vietnam (35%).

RTL

© Eurostat

Since 2013, the EU's love for spices has grown, with imports increasing by a remarkable 44%. Ginger and turmeric took the spotlight, with imports more than doubling (+112% and +140% respectively) over the last decade. However, not all spices followed the trend – imports of pepper fell by 19% in the same period.

A spicy debate

Admittedly, this news report caused a bit of a stir at the RTL Today desk, with numerous of our self-proclaimed hobby cooks weighing in on the use of spices. One poor soul was immediately belittled for suggesting that tumeric and ginger are not far off in terms of taste (I mean you get me, right?). Another one took the discussion to herbs and made the outlandish claim that coriander can be substituted with parsley as they are both "on the soapy taste scale" (ridiculous, right?)

So, as things got very heated (or rather spicy?!) very quickly, we decided that the only possible way of solving the debate would be through – yes, you guessed it – a poll. Let us know how you spice up your life, which ones you regularly use, and if your personal top five match that of the average EU citizen.