trade-export

Indian Dried Red Chilli: Varieties, Colour Value, Pungency and Compliance

India is the world’s largest chilli exporter, and chilli is India’s largest spice export by value. What a sauce manufacturer, oleoresin extractor or spice packer should settle before contracting — which of the two quality axes you are actually buying on, the variety that matches it, and the dual compliance exposure that decides whether the cargo clears.

September 11, 2026

13 min read

RNG Trade Intelligence

Market Research Desk · Rajkot

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Dried Red Chilli

Origin: Guntur, Byadgi and the southern belt

Chilli is grown principally in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra contributing significant volume. The Guntur mirchi yard in Andhra Pradesh is the largest chilli market in Asia and the physical centre of the trade; Byadgi in Karnataka is the reference point for the high-colour type that carries its name.

Chilli is India’s biggest spice export by value. Spices Board data for FY 2024-25 records chilli exports at USD 1,342.52 million, down 11.0 percent year on year, with China, Thailand and the United States as the top three markets. The decline reflects price and crop conditions rather than any loss of position — India remains the dominant origin.

The crop is sown from around June through August and harvested from December into March, with arrivals concentrating at Guntur from February through May. Cold storage extends availability through the year, which is why crop year and storage history belong in the contract: colour value declines in storage, and a lot held for a season will not test the same as fresh crop.

The two axes: colour or heat

This is the section that matters most, and it is where most chilli enquiries go wrong before a price is even quoted.

Dried chilli is bought for one of two properties, and occasionally for a balance of both. ASTA colour value measures extractable red colour and is what you specify if the chilli’s job is to colour a product — a sauce, a seasoning, a snack coating, or an oleoresin for colour extraction. Scoville heat units, and the underlying capsaicin content, measure pungency and are what you specify if the chilli’s job is heat.

These are independent. A variety can be very high in colour and very mild, or extremely pungent with unremarkable colour. Buying Teja when you needed Byadgi means paying for heat you will have to dilute out; buying Byadgi when you needed Teja means paying for colour and getting a product with no bite.

Name the axis before you name the variety. If your specification says “dried red chilli, good quality” and nothing else, you have not specified the product and no supplier can quote it accurately. Say ASTA colour minimum, or SHU range, or both with a tolerance on each.

Varieties

Byadgi and Guntur Sannam both carry geographical indication recognition, which is a genuine origin marker and worth verifying if you are paying a premium for either name.

Forms

Whole dried chilli, stemless or with stem

Stemless commands a premium and reduces your inbound waste and cleaning load. With-stem is cheaper per kilogram but you pay freight on stems that you then remove. Work the comparison on delivered cost per kilogram of usable chilli, not on the quoted FOB price.

Crushed and flakes

Specified by particle size and seed content. Seed ratio affects both appearance and heat, so state it.

Powder

Specified by mesh, ASTA colour and SHU. Powder is denser than whole and ships better, but it is also where adulteration risk concentrates — see below.

Reference specifications

Compliance: chilli carries two exposures, not one

Most spices have a single dominant regulatory risk. Chilli has two, and both should be settled before price is discussed.

Aflatoxin and ochratoxin A

Dried chilli is sun-dried in the open and is susceptible to mould growth where drying is slow or the crop is rained on near harvest. Maximum levels for aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in dried spices of the Capsicum genus are set in the European Union under Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915; confirm the exact figures for your product category before you specify, since limits differ by whether the material is for direct consumption or for further processing.

Chilli and chilli products from India are also listed for increased official controls at the EU border under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, which requires an official certificate accompanied by sampling and analysis results. The check frequency is amended periodically, so verify the current position rather than relying on a figure in a supplier’s brochure.

As with peanuts, aflatoxin distributes unevenly through a lot, so the sampling plan matters as much as the analysis. Name it in the contract.

Sudan dyes

This is the exposure specific to chilli and the one a new buyer is least likely to have on their checklist.

Sudan dyes are unauthorised industrial azo colourants that were historically added to chilli and chilli products to intensify red colour. Their detection triggered large-scale international recalls, and they remain a standing checkpoint in EU border controls on chilli and chilli products. The economic logic is the same as with any colour-driven ingredient: colour commands a premium, and a dye is cheaper than better chilli.

Require a Sudan dye test on the specific lot alongside the aflatoxin report, and require it on powder without exception. And apply the commercial rule that follows from it: unusually vivid colour offered at an unusually low price is a reason to test, not a reason to buy. Genuine high-ASTA chilli is expensive because Byadgi-type material is expensive.

Pesticide residues and sterilisation

Residue screening should be run against your destination’s limits. On sterilisation, the same rule applies as to any spice bound for the EU: ethylene oxide is not approved for food use there, and the residue limit as the sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol is 0.05 mg/kg under Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. Steam sterilisation is the answer for EU-bound cargo. Note that steam treatment can affect colour value, so the ASTA figure on the certificate should be the post-treatment result.

Documentation

• Spices Board of India registration — the spice-specific credential, distinct from APEDA, and the first thing to verify
• Certificate of analysis covering ASTA colour value, pungency, moisture, total and acid insoluble ash, with the test date stated
• Aflatoxin report stating B1 and total, the method, the limit of quantification and the sampling plan used
• Ochratoxin A report where the destination requires it
• Sudan dye test report on the specific lot
• Microbiological report: Salmonella in 25 g, total plate count, yeast and mould, E. coli
• Pesticide residue report including ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol for EU-bound cargo
• Sterilisation record naming the method, with validation data for steam
• Phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin
• Destination-specific official or health certificate, such as the EU certificate described above
• Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, declaring HS 0904.21 for whole dried chilli or 0904.22 for crushed or ground

Packing and container economics

Whole dried chilli is one of the lightest commodities in an agro catalogue by volume. A container fills long before it approaches its weight limit, so freight per tonne is high and the choice between whole and powder, and between loose and baled, moves your landed cost more than the FOB negotiation does.

Two levers worth modelling before you negotiate price. Compressed baling versus loose packing changes how much chilli fits in the box. And if your process grinds anyway, powder ships far more efficiently per tonne than whole pods — weighed against the higher adulteration risk in powder, which is a real trade-off rather than an obvious answer.

Ports and transit

Chennai, Krishnapatnam and Kakinada serve the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana belt; Mundra and Nhava Sheva handle volume from the western route. Indicative transit times, subject to service and transhipment:

How to qualify an Indian chilli supplier

1. Verify Spices Board of India registration first, then the Importer Exporter Code issued by DGFT.
2. State your axis — colour or heat — and see whether the reply engages with ASTA or SHU or simply repeats a variety name.
3. Ask for a recent certificate of analysis showing ASTA and pungency with the test date, plus the Sudan dye and aflatoxin reports from the same shipment.
4. Agree the aflatoxin sampling protocol in writing before the first order.
5. Establish whether the counterparty cleans, sorts, stems and grinds in-house or buys packed material and reships it.
6. Request a pre-shipment sample and test ASTA, pungency and moisture independently.
7. Start with a trial container and confirm colour on arrival, since colour value declines in storage and transit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ASTA colour and Scoville units?

ASTA measures extractable red colour; Scoville measures pungency. They are independent — a chilli can be high in one and low in the other. Byadgi is bought for colour, Teja for heat. Specify which axis you need.

Which variety should I buy?

Teja S17 for high heat and oleoresin, Guntur Sannam S4 for a balanced culinary chilli, Byadgi for high colour with low heat, Kashmiri type for deep colour with mild heat.

Why do Sudan dyes matter?

They are unauthorised industrial colourants historically added to chilli to boost red colour, and their detection caused large international recalls. They remain a checkpoint in EU border controls. Require a lot-specific test, especially on powder.

How much loads into a container?

Roughly 9 to 11 MT of baled whole chilli in a 20-foot and 18 to 22 MT in a 40-foot high cube. Powder runs about 15 to 18 MT per 20-foot. Chilli is volume limited, not weight limited.

Stemless or with stem?

Stemless costs more per kilogram but you are not paying freight on stems you will remove. Compare on delivered cost per kilogram of usable chilli.

What is the HS code?

0904.21 for dried chilli neither crushed nor ground, 0904.22 for crushed or ground. Confirm the eight-digit national code with your customs broker.

What is the minimum order quantity?

Trial orders from 1 MT for new buyers, then full container loads.

Request a specification-matched offer

Tell us whether you are buying on colour or heat, with your ASTA minimum or SHU range, variety preference, whole or powder, stemless or with stem, plus volume, destination port and incoterm. We return an FOB or CIF offer, a sample dispatch plan and a certificate of analysis template within 24 working hours.

https://rngagroexports.com/request-quote/