In the global food trade map, Chinese dehydrated red peppers are drawing a new curve of foreign trade growth with their unique "Chinese red" background color. As the world's largest producer of chili peppers, China's dehydrated red pepper industry has undergone more than 30 years of development and has formed a full industry chain layout from planting to processing. It is expected that the export value will exceed 1.5 billion US dollars by 2025, accounting for more than 60% of the global market share. Behind this number is a vivid footnote to the transformation and upgrading of China's agricultural foreign trade.
In the Hetao Plain of Inner Mongolia, the modern dehydrated red pepper production line operates day and night. As the largest export base for dehydrated peppers in China, Bayannur City has an annual processing capacity of 30000 tons. Its products are sold at a price of 200 yuan per kilogram on the shelves of German supermarkets, which has doubled compared to ten years ago. Behind this premium ability is the strong support of technological innovation: the introduction of vacuum belt drying technology by enterprises has increased the rehydration rate of products from 75% to 92%, and the color retention rate has increased by 40%. In Henan, Beite Food has achieved a purity of 98% in natural capsaicin extracted from red peppers through supercritical CO ₂ extraction technology, making it a sought after commodity in the global high-end seasoning market.
The demand for dried bell pepper in the international market is showing polarization: on one hand, there is a frenzy for organic products in the European and American health food markets, and on the other hand, there is a thirst for standardized raw materials in the Southeast Asian convenience food industry. In 2024, the export volume of organic dried bell pepper from China increased by 45% year-on-year, with the proportion of exports to the US market jumping from 12% to 23%. In Indonesia, with the explosive growth of the instant noodle industry, the import tariff on dried bell pepper from China has been reduced from 15% to 5%, directly driving a 37% increase in export volume. This demand differentiation forces enterprises to implement a "dual track strategy": leading enterprises such as Hunan Spicy Girl establish organic planting bases, while Ningxia Fatufa focuses on standardized raw material production, forming a misaligned competition.
The international trade environment is undergoing profound changes. The implementation of the EU's new regulation on pesticide residues in food once caused 20% of dried bell pepper enterprises in China to encounter technical trade barriers. But the crisis has forced industrial upgrading: Anqiu in Shandong has achieved full visualization of the planting process through the "blockchain+traceability" system, successfully opening up the EU market. Under the RCEP framework, the logistics cost of Chinese dried bell pepper entering Southeast Asia has been reduced by 18%, and trade efficiency has been improved by 30%. The release of this policy dividend is resonating with the technological upgrading of enterprises.
Standing at the time node of 2025, China's dried red pepper foreign trade is facing a historic opportunity. In the countries along the "the Belt and Road", the "turnkey project" model of Chinese enterprises (providing a full set of technical solutions from planting to processing) has achieved initial results. The pilot project in Kazakhstan has increased the added value of local red pepper by five times. At the same time, domestic enterprises have begun to explore the vast ocean of deep processing: from chili red pigment to chili essential oil, from food grade to pharmaceutical grade, the extension of the industrial chain brings value leaps. The capsaicin crystal developed by a certain enterprise in Guizhou has become a new favorite in the medical beauty market with a price of 800 yuan per gram.
When dried red peppers move from the fields to international dining tables, they carry not only the "Chinese flavor", but also the Chinese wisdom of agricultural modernization. In the next five years, with the deep integration of cold chain technology, genetic breeding, and digital trade, China's dried red pepper industry will undergo a transformation from a "world factory" to a "global value chain manager". This transformation is not only a microcosm of China's agricultural foreign trade transformation and upgrading, but also a vivid practice of the high-quality "going global" strategy.
Post time: Mar-21-2025