Cardamoms bowl

In 2025, exports of cardamoms were worth a total US$1.11 billion.

Exports of cardamoms decreased by an average -1.7% since 5 years earlier in 2021 when export sales for cardamoms amounted to $1.13 billion.

Year over year, overall export revenues for the strong-tasting spice made from plant seeds slowed by -1.2% compared to $1.16 billion starting from 2024.

Cardamoms are typically used in sweet and savory Asian dishes and spice mixes. They are also flavoring ingredients in coffee and teas, baked treats, chewing gum, garnishes, curry pastes and alcoholic drinks like bitters and gin.

By value, the 5 biggest exporters of cardamoms (Guatemala, India, Nepal, Indonesia and the Netherlands) sold 88.2% of all cardamoms exported during 2025..

Guatemala is a country in Central America sharing its northern border with Mexico and near the Caribbean to its east.

Applying a continental perspective, countries in Asia supplied the highest dollar worth of exported cardamoms during 2025 with shipments valued at $583.1 million or 52.6% of the global total. In second place were exporters based in Latin America (40.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, trailed by those in Europe (5.9%), Africa (0.7%), North America (0.12%) and Oceania (0.016%) led by Australia.

Shifting our attention to imports, the 5 leading importers of cardamoms in 2025 were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, mainland China and the United States of America. Collectively, that quintet of top import countries bought over three-fifths (61.2%) of globally imported cardamoms as measured by dollar value.

The above percentages suggest the total 85 exporters of cardamoms (88.2% for the corresponding top 5 exporters) is a more concentrated cohort compared to 160 buying countries, islands and territories. As stated above, the top 5 importers accounted for a smaller portion of the imports world total at 61.2%.

As for global imports of cardamoms by continent, 80% of cardamoms purchased on international markets was delivered to customers in Asia, Europe (10.4%), North America (5%), Africa (2.4%), Latin America (1.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then buyers in Oceania (0.9%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

The average unit price paid by importers of non-crushed and unground cardamoms was $18,368 per ton in 2025. That dollar amount reflects 33.1% in inflation from the average tonnage rate of $13,803 during 2024.

Processed cardamoms exports demanded a modestly lower unit price. For crushed or ground cardamoms, the average unit price paid by importers was $18,209 per ton in 2025 expanding by 24.5% from the average tonnage rate of $14,631 for 2024. Typically, a higher average price is driven by labor costs and other processing expenses but appears to be mitigated by economies of scale for non-crushed and unground cardamoms.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 090831 for cardamoms that is neither crushed nor ground, and 090832 for crushed or ground cardamoms.

Drilling down on those categories, 95.2% of world cardamoms exports by value were for non-crushed and unground cardamoms. The remaining 4.8% was paid for shipments of crushed or ground cardamoms (surpassing the 3.6% for 2024).

By value, the listed 20 countries shipped 98.8% of globally exported cardamoms in 2025.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing cardamoms exporters since 2024 were: Honduras (up 315.5%), Saudi Arabia (up 127.7%), Italy (up 120.4%) and Vietnam (up 115.6%).

Those countries that posted year-over-year declines in their exported cardamoms sales were: United Arab Emirates (down -92.9%), Bahrain (down -63.9%), Singapore (down -51.3%) and Guatemala (down -12.4%).

Overall spending on imported cardamoms expanded by 11.6% to $1.06 billion over the 5-year period starting in 2021 and accelerated by 9.6% from 2024.

Below are the 20 best buying markets as measured by the highest dollar value worth of cardamoms imported during 2025, for any cardamoms regardless of whether crushed or ground.

By value, the listed 20 countries bought 88.8% of globally imported cardamoms in 2025.

Among the top importers, the fastest-growing cardamoms importers since 2024 were: Guatemala (up 92.7%), Netherlands (up 90.4%), Germany (up 81.6%) and Egypt (up 62.1%).

Those countries that posted year-over-year declines in their imported cardamoms purchases were: Iraq (down -59%), Bangladesh (down -15.8%), Pakistan (down -15.7%), Oman (down -7.8%) and the United Arab Emirates (down -2.2%).

In 2025, the world’s average unit price for imports of non-crushed and unground cardamoms was US$18,366 per ton growing by 33.1% from $13,803 for 2024.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of non-crushed and unground cardamoms, Saudi Arabia, was higher at $30,783.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported raw cardamoms in 2025.

The severest percentage reductions in average unit price paid per ton for non-crushed and unground cardamoms from 2024 to 2025 belong to low-cost importers Kazakhstan (down -80.7%), Thailand (down -64.4%), Angola (down -57.3%), Uganda (down -57.1%) and Rwanda (also down -57.1%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported unprocessed cardamoms.

In 2025, the world’s average unit price for imports of crushed and ground cardamoms was US$18,209 per ton inflating by 24.5% from an average $14,631 per ton for 2024.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of crushed and ground cardamom (by weight), the United States of America was higher at $19,143.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported crushed and ground cardamoms in 2025.

Reductions in average unit price paid per ton for crushed and ground cardamoms from 2024 to 2025 belong to low-cost importers Kazakhstan (down -96.3%), Qatar (down -83.2%), Jordan (down -72.5%), Trinidad and Tobago (down -25%), Seychelles (down -18.2%) and Indonesia (down -14.3%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported crushed or ground cardamoms.

The strongest accelerations in terms of higher average unit prices in 2025 compared to 2024 were paid by importers of crushed or ground cardamoms in Estonia (up 85.1%), Russia (up 83%), Hungary (up 82.2%), Italy (up 77.2%), Slovakia (up 64.7%) and Portugal (up 64.3%).

See also Top Exported Spices by Sales, Weight and Unit Value, Cinnamon Exports by Country, Top Black Pepper Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Cloves Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices and Top Nutmeg Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Cardamoms Showroom. Accessed on September 15, 2026

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 15, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 15, 2026

Wikipedia, Cardamom. Accessed on September 15, 2026