Market evolution: Nutmeg mace cardamoms (CN 0908) — 2015–2025
Introduction
This report analyses the evolution of EU trade in combined products under customs heading 0908 — covering nutmeg (whole and ground), mace (whole and ground), and cardamoms (whole and ground) — over the period 2015–2025. The EU is structurally a net importer of these spices, and the period under review saw substantial growth in both trade flows, with imports rising from €63.5 million to €98.3 million and exports from €11.9 million to €20.3 million. However, as the following sections show, this growth was driven less by expanding volumes than by surging unit prices, and its composition shifted markedly toward cardamoms and a small number of emerging supplier countries. The analysis is based on annual EU-level customs data, with full trade and partner-level dashboards available online.
1. A market where prices, not volumes, drove headline growth
Import value grew far faster than import volume
Between 2015 and 2025, EU imports of heading 0908 rose by 54.8% in value (from €63.5 million to €98.3 million) but only 22.5% in volume (from 6,380 tonnes to 7,819 tonnes). The implied average import price climbed from approximately €9,950 per tonne to €12,570 per tonne (+26.3%), accounting for roughly half of the value increase. This indicates that a significant part of the apparent market expansion reflects higher global commodity and spice prices rather than a proportional increase in physical demand.
| Metric | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import value (EUR million) | 63.5 | 98.3 | +54.8% |
| Import volume (tonnes) | 6,380 | 7,819 | +22.5% |
| Implied import price (EUR/t) | 9,950 | 12,570 | +26.3% |
Source: General Overview — trade
Export prices rose even more steeply
EU re-exports tell a similar but more extreme story. Export value surged by 71.0% (from €11.9 million to €20.3 million), while volumes barely moved (+4.7%, from 1,007 tonnes to 1,054 tonnes). The average export price jumped from approximately €11,775 to €19,232 per tonne (+63.3%), suggesting that EU-based traders captured — or passed on — significant price increases on international markets.
| Metric | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export value (EUR million) | 11.9 | 20.3 | +71.0% |
| Export volume (tonnes) | 1,007 | 1,054 | +4.7% |
| Implied export price (EUR/t) | 11,776 | 19,232 | +63.3% |
Source: General Overview — trade
The trade deficit widened substantially
The EU's structural trade deficit in this product group deepened from −€51.6 million in 2015 to −€78.0 million in 2025 (a worsening of 51.1%), reaching its widest point in the final year of the series. This reflects the fact that import value growth (+54.8%) consistently outpaced export value growth (+71.0%) in absolute euro terms, despite the higher percentage growth in exports from a smaller base.
Source: General Overview — trade
2. Cardamoms became the value growth engine, powered by Guatemala and soaring prices
The product mix shifted decisively toward cardamoms
A breakdown of import data by sub-product reveals that the most dramatic changes occurred within the cardamom categories. Whole cardamoms (CN 090831) saw their import value skyrocket from €9.5 million in 2015 to €43.8 million in 2025 — accounting for 44.6% of total heading 0908 import value by 2025, up from just 15.0% in 2015. Crushed or ground cardamoms (090832) grew from €0.5 million to €4.2 million. Meanwhile, whole nutmeg (090811), which was the single largest sub-product by value in 2015 at €25.9 million, declined to €13.7 million — losing its dominant position entirely.
| Sub-product | Import value 2015 (EUR m) | Import value 2025 (EUR m) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 090831 — Cardamoms, whole | 9.5 | 43.8 | +360% |
| 090812 — Nutmeg, crushed/ground | 17.2 | 21.2 | +23% |
| 090811 — Nutmeg, whole | 25.9 | 13.7 | −47% |
| 090822 — Mace, crushed/ground | 4.9 | 11.5 | +133% |
| 090821 — Mace, whole | 5.4 | 4.0 | −25% |
| 090832 — Cardamoms, crushed/ground | 0.5 | 4.2 | +769% |
Source: Product Segment Breakdown — imports
Cardamom prices tripled, while nutmeg prices declined
The value explosion in cardamoms was driven overwhelmingly by price increases rather than volume growth. Import prices for whole cardamoms (090831) rose from €6,808/t in 2015 to €21,306/t in 2025 — tripling over the decade. In contrast, whole nutmeg prices fell from €10,567/t to €7,413/t (−30%), and crushed nutmeg prices dropped from €10,792/t to €7,696/t (−29%). This divergence in price trajectories within the same heading is striking and explains much of the product-mix shift: cardamoms became a far more valuable product per kilogramme imported.
| Sub-product | Price 2015 (EUR/t) | Price 2025 (EUR/t) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 090831 — Cardamoms, whole | 6,808 | 21,306 | +213% |
| 090832 — Cardamoms, crushed/ground | 12,776 | 16,703 | +31% |
| 090822 — Mace, crushed/ground | 12,060 | 17,254 | +43% |
| 090821 — Mace, whole | 11,139 | 15,962 | +43% |
| 090811 — Nutmeg, whole | 10,567 | 7,413 | −30% |
| 090812 — Nutmeg, crushed/ground | 10,792 | 7,696 | −29% |
Source: Product Segment Breakdown — imports
Guatemala emerged as a dominant cardamom supplier, reshaping the partner landscape
The most striking supplier-level dynamic is Guatemala's rise. EU imports from Guatemala surged from €7.3 million in 2015 to €35.2 million in 2025 — a 379% increase — making Guatemala the second-largest supplier after Indonesia. This growth is almost certainly linked to the cardamom boom: Guatemala is the world's largest cardamom exporter, and the near-quadrupling of EU imports from the country mirrors the price and value trajectory of sub-product 090831. Indonesia, the traditional dominant supplier (primarily nutmeg and mace), remained broadly stable in value terms (€39.5 million to €37.0 million, −6.3%) but was overtaken in growth terms by Guatemala.
| Supplier | Import value 2015 (EUR m) | Import value 2025 (EUR m) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 39.5 | 37.0 | −6.3% |
| Guatemala | 7.3 | 35.2 | +379% |
| India | 1.4 | 4.5 | +217% |
| United Kingdom | 1.5 | 2.8 | +86% |
| Sri Lanka | 1.5 | 2.8 | +85% |
| Viet Nam | 7.4 | 7.4 | +0.3% |
| Grenada | 3.0 | 2.0 | −35% |
Source: General Overview — top partners
Import concentration as measured by the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) for value fell from 4,184 to 2,809 (−32.9%), confirming a meaningful diversification of the EU's supplier base — even though Indonesia and Guatemala alone now account for a very large share of imports.
Source: Concentration — HHI
3. The Netherlands and Germany anchor intra-EU trade, while specialisation is concentrated in the Baltics and Nordics
Netherlands and Germany dominate both import and re-export flows
At the EU member-state level, the Netherlands and Germany together accounted for the majority of both imports and exports throughout the period. In 2025, the Netherlands imported €39.2 million (41.1% growth) and Germany €24.7 million (41.0% growth). On the export side, the Netherlands exported €6.3 million and Germany €4.1 million — both roughly doubling over the decade. This pattern is consistent with the role of Rotterdam and Hamburg as major European spice trading and processing hubs.
| EU Member State | Import 2015 (EUR m) | Import 2025 (EUR m) | Export 2015 (EUR m) | Export 2025 (EUR m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 27.8 | 39.2 | 3.6 | 6.3 |
| Germany | 17.5 | 24.7 | 2.2 | 4.1 |
| Italy | 6.6 | 11.0 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| France | 3.8 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Sweden | 1.6 | 6.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Spain | 1.9 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 |
Source: General Overview — top reporters
Sweden stands out with import growth of 275% and export growth of 287%, suggesting an expanding role in Scandinavian spice distribution. Spain also showed notable dynamism, especially in exports (+152%).
The United Kingdom remains the EU's primary extra-EU export destination
The United Kingdom was the largest single export partner throughout the period, with EU shipments rising from €4.9 million to €6.9 million (+41.1%). Norway surged from €1.3 million to €5.7 million (+319.5%), making it the second-largest export destination by 2025. The Russian Federation also grew significantly (+163.7%), while Cuba collapsed from €315,166 to just €67,541 (−78.6%).
| Export partner | Value 2015 (EUR m) | Value 2025 (EUR m) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 4.9 | 6.9 | +41% |
| Norway | 1.3 | 5.7 | +320% |
| Switzerland | 1.4 | 2.0 | +38% |
| United States | 1.2 | 1.6 | +30% |
| Russian Federation | 0.3 | 0.8 | +164% |
Source: General Overview — top partners
Trade specialisation is unevenly distributed across EU members
Revealed comparative advantage (RSCA) data for 2025 shows that the Netherlands has the highest export specialisation in heading 0908 (RSCA = 0.559, RCA = 3.54), followed by Latvia (RSCA = 0.362), Finland (0.268), and Estonia (0.241). At the other extreme, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Bulgaria show negligible specialisation. This geographic concentration of re-export activity in the Netherlands and the Baltic/Nordic states likely reflects port infrastructure, trade intermediation roles, and — in the case of the Nordics — proximity to Scandinavian consumer markets with high per-capita spice consumption.
Source: Most / least specialised reporters
Export volatility is moderate and shocks are limited
Coefficient of variation data shows that EU export flows to most partners exhibit moderate volatility (CV between 0.14 and 0.66 for main partners), with some outliers such as the United Arab Emirates (CV 1.03) and Ceuta (CV 1.55). On the import side, Indonesia — the dominant supplier — shows remarkably low volatility (CV 0.078), confirming its role as a stable anchor source. The most notable supply shocks detected in the data relate to EU export prices: a significant price spike to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023 (abnormality score 12.9), a price surge to the United States in 2017, and an export price shock to Indonesia in 2018.
Source: Volatility & Shocks
Conclusion
The EU market for nutmeg, mace, and cardamoms over 2015–2025 was characterised by robust nominal growth (imports +55% in value) driven primarily by rising prices rather than expanding volumes. The most transformative dynamic within this heading was the emergence of cardamoms as the dominant value category — fuelled by tripling unit prices and a dramatic increase in supply from Guatemala, which overtook all competitors except Indonesia. Meanwhile, nutmeg prices declined, eroding the position of traditional nutmeg-dominant suppliers. At the EU level, the Netherlands and Germany consolidated their roles as trade hubs, while the supplier base diversified (HHI −33%). Looking forward, the concentration of growth in a single high-value sub-product (whole cardamoms) and a single emerging supplier (Guatemala) introduces potential vulnerability: any disruption to Guatemalan cardamom supply — whether from climate events, logistical issues, or policy changes — could significantly affect EU import values and prices within this heading.