Spices · importers
Italy ranks fourth of 96 at $3.4B in the chapter that contains spices, and food manufacturing there is a natural home for seasonings.
| Market | HS 09 imports |
|---|---|
| United States | $11.7B |
| Germany | $6.5B |
| France | $4.0B |
| Canada | $2.4B |
| Spain | $2.2B |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 09 (coffee, tea, mate and spices). Source: UN Comtrade, as reported by national authorities; latest available year per market.
France is above at $4.0B and Canada below at $2.4B. Italy’s 5.0% share of reported world imports keeps a clear gap over the market behind it. Within its own import bill the chapter is 0.5% of $621.6B and ranks 31st, higher than in France, Germany or the United States.
Italy has a large processing industry for cured meats, tomato sauces, ready meals and pasta dishes. These use peppers, chillies, herbs, fennel and other seasonings in quantity, and some are bought as whole dried ingredients and ground in-house. An industrial buyer wants a reliable specification and steady deliveries through the production year, whereas a retail packer wants clean, attractive product.
Ask what the buyer makes, since a salami producer and a herb packer need different lots even if both buy the same spice.
Germany, China, France and the Netherlands lead Italy’s overall source list. It covers all goods, but it suggests some spices may reach Italian buyers through northern trading houses. Food-safety, contaminant and treatment rules are set by the authorities and can change, so confirm them with the authorities and the importer.
The $3.4B counts coffee, tea, mate and spices, so spices are only part. Rankings are reporter-declared and re-exports can move a market.
Shipment records under individual spice headings name consignees and weights, which is how you turn a market figure into a call list. Agree Incoterm, currency, payment terms and port, and approach shortlisted companies via this site’s free marketplace. Ask each what a new supplier would need to demonstrate before a first order.
Fourth of 96 at $3.4B in 2024, a 5.0% share of reported world imports.
Makers of cured meats, sauces and ready meals, retail packers and wholesalers.
No. It also contains coffee, tea and mate.
Read spice-heading shipment records and compare consignees by weight.
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