The Country That Produces The Most Chili Peppers Eats The Majority Of Them

If you're American and consider yourself to be a serious fan of all things spicy, you might need to think again. No matter how much hot sauce, Texas chili, or chili crisp you've been eating, it hasn't been enough. On the global ranking of the biggest consumers of chili pepper, the U.S. doesn't even make the top five.

According to Spherical Insights, this award goes to India, which surpassed chili consumption in the next-ranked countries of China, Mexico, Thailand, and Indonesia. India's top spot is in part due to the country's huge population but also to the amount of chili it produces. With 1.98 million metric tons grown in 2023-24 (per Seair), India has now also outranked China as the top producer of chili and accounts for 40% of production worldwide.

India's love affair with spicy peppers means that 70% of what the country grows is consumed domestically. Despite this, India still sells more chilis than any other country, making it simultaneously the most prolific producer, exporter, and consumer of chili peppers in the world.

India might have a reputation for nothing but spicy curries, but it's important to remember what a large and diverse country this is. Depending on who you ask, it's home to at least nine unique cuisines at a high level and several dozen or more at the state level. That being said, chili is still the most consumed spice in India.

The all-round spiciest cuisine is said to be from Andhra Pradesh in the south, which uses the red Guntur chili as well as plenty of fresh green chilis. For some truly hot, delicious Indian dishes, you also have pork vindaloo from Goa, Kerala fish curry, and Naga pork with bhut jolokia — one of the world's spiciest chilis.

In general, however, chilis are used to add depth to a food's flavor rather than create pure heat. Indian favorites in the U.S., such as butter chicken, chicken tikka, and biryani, all include chili in the mix but balance the spice with cream, yogurt, or other aromatics. In some cases, chilis are also used for color. For example, the bright red Kashmiri chili brings a vibrant hue and only a mild warmth to dishes like tandoori and rogan josh.