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- World Pepper Production
The following is excerpted from the upcoming book The Pepper Encyclopedia, by Dave DeWitt, published by William Morrow & Co.
Until recently, it has been very difficult to find accurate chile pepper production statistics from various countries around the world. The problem has been a combination of lax record keeping and the lack of publication of such data. But in 1988, the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taipei, Taiwan, held an international conference on tomato and pepper production around the world. The results of that conference, published as Tomato and Pepper Production in the Tropics, is now available and contains much valuable data on world production.
Below is a table listing statistics extracted from reports given at the conference. There still are problems with the statistics because of various factors, but these are the most reliable figures to date. Readers should be warned that these statistics only reflect reported commercial operations and do not include small home farm plots. Some countries do not report whether their figures are for fresh or dry weight so assumptions have been made based on the varieties grown. Fresh or green production figures have been converted to dry equivalent tons at the ratio of 8:1.
The biggest statistical problems are closest to home: Mexico and the U.S. As J.A. Laborde and E. Rendon-Poblete point out, "The statistics for (Mexican) peppers are not very reliable, because they are expressed in two different ways: as 'pungent' and 'nonpungent' or as 'dry and green peppers.' Current figures do not specify which peppers are included in which group." Thus, the Mexican figures may include bell peppers but may not include Tamaulipas State, the main producer of serranos. However, chile pepper data from the National Chile Conference held at San Miguel de Allende in 1984 compares favorably to the Laborde and Rendon-Poblete figures and does not include bells.
In the U.S., some states do collect data on chile pepper production (New Mexico and California), while others do not (Texas, Arizona, Louisiana). The U.S. Agricultural Census keeps only acreage data. Thus the U.S. figures are extrapolated from a number of sources and years from 1978-1988.
Pepper Production
Yield depends to a certain extent on the varieties grown. Varieties with smaller pods will produce less weight per acre. Figures do not include bell pepper production. The countries are ranked by total yield. Also, some notable chile pepper-producing countries, such as Burma, Pakistan, Peru, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Hungary were not included in the A.V.R.D.C. study.
Country Year Acreage (In Acres) Yield (Dry Equiv. Tons) ------- ---- ------------------ ----------------------- India 1986 2,202,746 707,900 Mexico 1988 156,840 536,000 Indonesia 1986 498,940 387,000 China 1988 148,200 212,500 Korea 1986 326,331 202,841 Thailand 1985 143,652 116,501 Ethiopia 1971 600,704 102,200 U.S.A. 1988 31,201 49,921 Taiwan 1986 7,047 21,218 Malaysia 1985 2,848 13,836 Japan 1984 351 400Pepper Acreage
According to a 1993 study by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, India again was ranked first in pepper acreage. The U.S. was eleventh (bell pepper production included) and Mexico was sixth. Remember that yield varies by variety and cultural practices.
Country Acreage ------- ------- India 2,230,000 Ethiopia 608,000 Indonesia 541,000 Korea 331,000 China 215,000 Mexico 204,000 Bangladesh 197,000 Nigeria 193,000 Thailand 151,000 Pakistan 144,000 U.S.A. 125,000 Sri Lanka 101,000
