Global trade data UN Comtrade data Government and peer-reviewed origins Proposed risk framework

Customs data show where botanicals come from, but no single heading measures the ingredient trade

What each customs heading covers, how trade values are measured, and what UN Comtrade data show about origin concentration and sourcing risk.

Scope. Trade statistics and an analytical framework only. Supplier qualification, import documentation and the proposed distribution models are on the Global ingredients page.

Three exporters supplied 42.8% of reported HS 12.11 exports in 2024, and India 31.1% of U.S. importsUN Comtrade

$4.34BExports reported by 132 economies under HS 12.11 (FOB for most exporters)

42.8%Share of those exports from China ($978M), India ($535M) and Canada ($344M)

$555MU.S. imports (CIF), the largest of 147 reporting importers; Germany second at $505M

31.1%Share of U.S. imports from India ($172M); Mexico second at $61M

Exporter and importer totals come from different sets of reporting countries, so neither is a world total and the two are not compared directly.UN Comtrade, HS 12.11, annual 2024, all reporters; public API, retrieved October 22, 2026.

What the data cover

Botanical trade is split across at least five customs headings, and each also carries goods that are not supplement ingredients

U.S. imports by customs category, 2024, US$ million (CIF, importer-reported)UN Comtrade

Show data

Category	CIF, US$ million	FOB-type, US$ million
Spices, HS 09.04–09.10	2,126.0	2,031.4
Essential oils, HS 33.01	1,289.8	1,266.6
Saps and extracts, HS 1302.11–1302.19	1,166.3	not split
Pectin, agar, mucilages and thickeners, HS 1302.20–1302.39	512.4	not split
Heading 13.02 total	1,678.8	1,632.0
Medicinal and aromatic plants, HS 12.11	555.2	527.9
Gums and resins, HS 13.01	135.4	132.0

Categories overlap in use but not in classification, so bars can be compared; none isolates supplement ingredients. Subheading values for 13.02 are available as CIF only in this extract.UN Comtrade Database, reporter United States (842), partner World, annual 2024, HS 2022 headings and subheadings; public API, retrieved October 22, 2026. Heading texts: World Customs Organization, HS Nomenclature 2022 Edition, Chapters 9, 12, 13, 21 and 33.

U.S. imports in eleven customs categories, 2024, by origin: the six largest origins of each category and the rest (US$ million, CIF)UN Comtrade

Area is proportional to import value. Each rectangle is one origin's 2024 exports to the United States in one heading, as the United States reported them (country of origin, CIF). Heading 13.02 includes pectin and thickeners. The concentration table and the origin heat map below list the values.UN Comtrade, reporter United States (842), annual 2024, HS 2022, all partners; public API, retrieved October 22, 2026.

Spices, essential oils and extracts each exceed raw medicinal plants (HS 12.11) in U.S. import value.

Explanation, details and sources

The Harmonized System (HS) classifies goods by what they are, not by how they will be used. Raw plant material, extracts, spices and essential oils sit in different headings, so HS 12.11 alone is an indicator for one segment, not a measure of the botanical ingredient market.

Heading	WCO heading text (HS 2022)	Botanical examples	Also includes
12.11	"Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered."	Ginseng roots (1211.20); basil, borage, hyssop, liquorice, mints, rosemary, rue, sage and wormwood (Chapter 12 Note 4)	Coca leaf, poppy straw, ephedra and Prunus africana bark, each in its own subheading
13.02	"Vegetable saps and extracts; pectic substances, pectinates and pectates; agar-agar and other mucilages and thickeners, whether or not modified, derived from vegetable products."	Liquorice extract (1302.12), hop extract (1302.13), other plant extracts (1302.19)	Pectin, agar, guar and locust-bean thickeners: about 30% of U.S. 13.02 import value in 2024
13.01	"Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins (for example, balsams)."	Gum arabic (1301.20) and other natural gums and resins	Lac
09.04–09.10	Chapter 9, "Coffee, tea, maté and spices": pepper and capsicum, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamoms, aromatic seeds, and "ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices" (09.10)	Turmeric, ginger and saffron (09.10); cinnamon (09.06); fennel and cumin seed (09.09)	Mostly culinary spices for food use
33.01	"Essential oils (terpeneless or not), including concretes and absolutes; resinoids; extracted oleoresins; …"	Peppermint and other mint oils, oleoresins	Citrus and other oils used mainly for flavor and fragrance
21.06	"Food preparations not elsewhere specified or included."	Many finished supplement preparations	A wide range of foods; no botanical share can be isolated, so it is not charted

Chapter 13 Note 1 excludes from 13.02 extracts of coffee, tea or maté (21.01), glycyrrhizin (29.38), medicaments (30.03, 30.04) and essential oils and extracted oleoresins (Chapter 33). Turmeric is classified in 09.10, not 12.11; liquorice root is 12.11 while liquorice extract is 1302.12. The classification of any one product is decided by customs authorities under the General Interpretive Rules, not by this page.

Why it mattersA buyer comparing supply markets must use the heading that matches its material; reading turmeric or an extract off HS 12.11 data would miss it entirely.

How values are measured

Importers value trade at their own border (CIF) and exporters at theirs (FOB), so mirror figures never match exactly

FOB-type value plus freight and insurance equals CIF: U.S. imports, 2024UN Comtrade

U.S. imports, 2024	FOB-type ($M)	Freight and insurance ($M)	CIF ($M)	CIF over FOB
HS 12.11, medicinal and aromatic plants	527.9	27.3	555.2	5.2%
HS 13.02, saps, extracts and thickeners	1,632.0	46.7	1,678.8	2.9%
HS 09.04–09.10, spices	2,031.4	94.6	2,126.0	4.7%
HS 33.01, essential oils	1,266.6	23.2	1,289.8	1.8%

UN Comtrade, reporter United States, 2024, fields cifvalue and fobvalue; retrieved October 22, 2026.

Freight and insurance added 1.8% to 5.2% to the FOB-type value of U.S. imports in 2024; Comtrade's U.S. figures are CIF, not customs value.

Show the table (6 rows): Mirror statistics, HS 12.11, 2024: what six exporters reported shipping to the United Stat

Mirror statistics, HS 12.11, 2024: what six exporters reported shipping to the United States, and what the United States reported receiving from them (US$ million)
Partner	Exporter-reported exports to the U.S. (FOB)	U.S.-reported imports from it (CIF)	Difference (U.S. minus exporter)
India	165.7	172.5	6.8
Mexico	75.1	61.3	-13.8
Egypt	55.3	24.1	-31.2
China	31.5	30.9	-0.6
Germany	23.3	29.1	5.8
Canada	7.9	14.8	6.9

Explanation, details and sources

CIF (cost, insurance and freight): Value at the importer's border, including international freight and insurance. IMTS 2010 recommends it for imports (para. 4.8).
FOB (free on board): Value at the exporter's border. Recommended for exports; countries are encouraged to compile FOB-type import values as supplementary information.
U.S. customs value: "The price actually paid or payable for merchandise when sold for exportation to the United States, excluding U.S. import duties, freight, insurance, and other charges" (Census Bureau). It is an FAS-type value, very close to FOB.
Comtrade "primary" value: CIF for imports where reported, otherwise FOB. UN Comtrade records the United States with CIF import valuation, so the U.S. figures on this page are CIF and will not match Census or USITC customs-value totals.
Partner country: IMTS 2010 recommends attributing imports to the country of origin and exports to the country of last known destination (para. 6.25), which the same guidance notes are "very often not comparable."

For U.S. imports of HS 12.11 in 2024, freight and insurance added $27.3 million, about 5% of the FOB-type value. Mirror statistics differ for more reasons than freight, as the comparison below shows.

Differences come from freight and insurance, timing, partner attribution (origin for imports, last known destination for exports), goods routed through third countries, classification differences between national tariffs, and confidential records. A gap is not evidence of error or fraud by itself. Sources: UN Statistics Division, International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions 2010, paras. 4.7–4.8 and 6.25–6.26; U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade definitions; UN Comtrade, retrieved October 22, 2026.

Origins and routes

Widely sold botanicals grow on six continents, so where an ingredient grows sets much of its supply and documentation risk

Native or principal growing regions of seventeen botanicals, with routes to an import marketGovernment and peer-reviewed

Highlight

Choose a botanical or a country in the list to read its detail here.

Show data: origins and sources

Botanical	Region stated by the source	Continent	Source
Turmeric Curcuma longa	Grown commercially in Southeast Asia and India	Asia	NCCIH, Turmeric fact sheet (updated April 2025)
Ashwagandha Withania somnifera	Found in parts of India, Africa and the Middle East	Asia	NCCIH, Ashwagandha fact sheet (updated March 2023)
Psyllium Plantago ovata	India dominates world trade; cultivated on a large scale in North Gujarat	Asia	Kotwal S, et al. PLoS One. 2016;11(3):e0150273
Saffron Crocus sativus	World output is about 300 t a year, 76% of it from Iran; the source names Iran's Khorasan provinces and India's Jammu and Kashmir as producing regions	Asia	Gohari AR, et al. Pharmacogn Rev. 2013;7(13):61–66
Asian ginseng Panax ginseng	Native to Korea, northeastern China and far-eastern Siberia; South Korea, China, Canada and the U.S. grow over 99% of the world's fresh ginseng of all species	Asia	NCCIH, Asian Ginseng (updated February 2025); Baeg IH, So SH. J Ginseng Res. 2013;37(1):1–7
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba	A relict gymnosperm indigenous to China	Asia	Feng Z, et al. Hortic Res. 2026;13:uhag064
American ginseng Panax quinquefolius	Occurs in deciduous forests of the eastern U.S. and Canada; Wisconsin grows 95% of U.S. field-cultivated ginseng (figure attributed to the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin)	North America	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, export advice memorandum, September 1, 2022
Cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon	Wet habitats in northeastern and north-central North America	North America	NCCIH, Cranberry fact sheet (updated November 2024)
Echinacea Echinacea spp.	Native to areas east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States	North America	NCCIH, Echinacea fact sheet (updated November 2024)
Black cohosh Actaea racemosa	Grows in North America	North America	NCCIH, Black Cohosh fact sheet (updated November 2024)
Saw palmetto Serenoa repens	Native to the West Indies and the southeast coast of North America	North America	NCCIH, Saw Palmetto fact sheet (updated April 2025)
Maca Lepidium meyenii	Grows only in the central Andes of Peru, 4,000–4,500 m, traditionally on the Junín plateau	South America	Gonzales GF. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:193496
Guarana Paullinia cupana	Produced mainly in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Bahia	South America	Schimpl FC, et al. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013;150(1):14–31
Elderberry Sambucus nigra	Grows in Europe, North America, Western Asia and North Africa	Europe	NCCIH, European Elder fact sheet (updated November 2024)
Milk thistle Silybum marianum	Native to Europe; introduced to North America by early colonists	Europe	NCCIH, Milk Thistle fact sheet (updated February 2025)
Rooibos Aspalathus linearis	Occurs naturally only where South Africa's winter-rainfall area and fynbos region meet, mostly in the Western Cape	Africa	South African Rooibos Council. Application for a protected designation of origin, Rooibos / Red Bush (ZA/PDO/0005/02427), EU eAmbrosia register, 2018
Kava Piper methysticum	Native to the South Pacific	Oceania	NCCIH, Kava fact sheet (updated April 2025)

Sanctions note. The saffron source above names Iran as the largest producer. U.S. sanctions (31 CFR 560.201) prohibit importing goods of Iranian origin unless OFAC authorizes it; the general authorization for Iranian foodstuffs ended on August 6, 2018. Whether processing in another country changes origin is a question for sanctions counsel. See Legal status.Markers are placed inside the region each source names; they are not sourcing locations. Arcs are great-circle paths to Southern California, the proposed EUTECNIQ region (no site selected), or to Germany, the largest EU importer of HS 12.11 in 2024; they are not shipping lanes.NCCIH herb fact sheets (2023–2025); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2022); Baeg & So 2013; Gohari et al. 2013; Gonzales 2012; Schimpl et al. 2013; Kotwal et al. 2016; Feng et al. 2026; South African Rooibos Council PDO application (2018); UN Comtrade (retrieved October 22, 2026). Base map: Natural Earth via world-atlas.

Explanation, details and sources

Switch between where seventeen widely sold botanicals grow and the largest 2024 HS 12.11 trade flows. Choose an item in the list to highlight it on the map and read its detail; every origin cites its source in the table below the map.

Trade flows

India and Mexico are the largest sources of U.S. HS 12.11 imports, while Japan and Korea buy mainly from China

HS 12.11 imports in 2024 reported by eight importers, by exporting country (US$ million)UN Comtrade

Show data

Importer (reporter)	Total	China	India	Canada	Germany	Egypt	United States	Spain	Poland	Korea, Rep.	Mexico
United States	555.2	30.92	172.46	14.80	29.15	24.07	—	5.25	1.36	4.76	61.30
Germany	504.5	12.99	78.89	90.13	—	19.01	22.17	12.96	39.16	0.22	1.49
China	337.5	—	20.04	46.64	0.00	0.57	15.52	0.34	0.60	38.13	0.75
Japan	335.2	279.08	10.04	0.16	1.39	1.58	3.17	0.49	0.73	2.11	0.21
Hong Kong SAR	162.0	92.98	0.30	2.26	0.01	n/r	22.96	n/r	n/r	24.56	n/r
Other Asia, n.e.s.	161.8	140.25	3.60	1.53	0.43	0.28	1.22	0.00	0.05	6.83	n/r
France	144.4	10.15	18.60	0.35	18.99	3.49	3.74	8.30	4.52	0.37	0.20
Korea, Rep.	129.4	90.92	9.48	0.08	0.64	1.21	0.74	1.02	1.52	—	0.01

US$ million, importer-reported (CIF for most importers). "n/r" = no flow reported; "—" = same country.

Values are importer-reported and differ from the exporters' own reports. "Other Asia, n.e.s." is UN Comtrade's reporting designation. The data do not identify which plants make up each flow. Flows under $3 million are grouped into other origins.UN Comtrade Database, HS 1211, annual 2024, importer-reported values; public API, retrieved October 22, 2026.

Who supplies whom: HS 12.11 imports reported by eight importers in 2024, as directed flows from origin to importer (US$ million)UN Comtrade

Show data: the chord matrix

Origin (partner)	United States	Germany	China	Japan	Hong Kong SAR	Other Asia, n.e.s.	France	Korea, Rep.
China	30.9	13.0	—	279.1	93.0	140.2	10.2	90.9
United States	—	22.2	15.5	3.2	23.0	1.2	3.7	0.7
Germany	29.1	—	0.0	1.4	0.0	0.4	19.0	0.6
Japan	1.5	0.0	0.6	—	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.4
India	172.5	78.9	20.0	10.0	0.3	3.6	18.6	9.5
Korea, Rep.	4.8	0.2	38.1	2.1	24.6	6.8	0.4	—
Other Asia, n.e.s.	3.6	0.0	0.3	1.0	10.7	—	0.0	0.0
Hong Kong SAR	11.2	0.0	—	0.0	—	0.0	0.5	0.1
Canada	14.8	90.1	46.6	0.2	2.3	1.5	0.4	0.1
France	7.7	5.8	0.1	0.4	0.0	0.0	—	0.3
Viet Nam	1.1	0.5	68.1	2.6	2.1	0.5	1.5	1.7
Mexico	61.3	1.5	0.7	0.2	—	—	0.2	0.0
Other origins	216.6	292.4	147.2	35.0	5.5	7.3	87.0	24.9

US$ million, as reported by the importer named in each column (CIF for most importers); partner = origin. Rows are origins; "Other origins" groups every origin not named. Re-imports (importer = partner) are excluded.

Each ribbon runs from an origin to the importer that reported it; arc length is the sum of flows in and out. Only these eight importers' reports are used, so flows into other countries are absent, and an importer's own exports appear only where another of the eight reported them. Hover or focus an arc to isolate its flows.UN Comtrade, reporters United States, Germany, China, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Other Asia n.e.s., France and Korea, HS 12.11, annual 2024; public API, retrieved October 22, 2026.

Top 15 exporters, 2024 (US$ million)UN Comtrade

Show data

Rank	Exporter	US$ million	Share of $4.34B
1	China	977.7	22.6%
2	India	535.3	12.3%
3	Canada	344.3	7.9%
4	Germany	267.5	6.2%
5	Egypt	209.0	4.8%
6	United States	160.7	3.7%
7	Spain	109.5	2.5%
8	Poland	108.9	2.5%
9	Korea, Rep.	101.5	2.3%
10	Mexico	83.9	1.9%
11	France	78.5	1.8%
12	Italy	65.2	1.5%
13	Morocco	64.0	1.5%
14	South Africa	59.5	1.4%
15	Portugal	58.5	1.4%

UN Comtrade, HS 1211, exporter-reported, 2024; share of $4.34B reported by 132 economies.

Top 15 importers, 2024 (US$ million)UN Comtrade

Show data

Rank	Importer	US$ million	Share of $4.46B
1	United States	555.2	12.4%
2	Germany	504.5	11.3%
3	China	337.5	7.6%
4	Japan	335.2	7.5%
5	Australia	190.1	4.3%
6	Hong Kong SAR	162.0	3.6%
7	Other Asia, n.e.s.	161.8	3.6%
8	France	144.4	3.2%
9	Korea, Rep.	129.4	2.9%
10	India	129.1	2.9%
11	United Kingdom	123.0	2.8%
12	Italy	119.1	2.7%
13	Spain	108.6	2.4%
14	Mexico	103.3	2.3%
15	Canada	101.7	2.3%

UN Comtrade, HS 1211, importer-reported, 2024; share of $4.46B reported by 147 economies.

Exports by the four largest 2024 exporters, 2015–2024 (US$ million, nominal)UN Comtrade

India's reported exports more than doubled; Canada's fell until 2019 and then nearly tripled.UN Comtrade, HS 1211, exporter-reported, 2015–2024 (reported under the HS 2012, 2017 and 2022 editions; heading 12.11 is common to all).

Imports by the four largest 2024 importers, 2015–2024 (US$ million, nominal)UN Comtrade

U.S. imports rose from $394M to $555M in current dollars; China's imports more than doubled.UN Comtrade, HS 1211, importer-reported, 2015–2024.

Show data: 2015–2024 series

Series (US$ million, nominal)	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Exports · China	1036.6	1008.2	964.6	823.7	898.3	931.7	949.4	971.0	981.8	977.7
Exports · India	237.3	259.4	291.7	307.2	285.8	347.4	414.6	438.7	450.8	535.3
Exports · Canada	226.8	192.8	185.4	131.8	121.4	141.5	161.3	184.1	282.8	344.3
Exports · Germany	152.1	152.2	175.7	190.2	187.2	217.6	237.3	231.5	239.8	267.4
Exports · Egypt	118.2	120.8	115.3	110.6	117.4	144.6	175.4	192.6	189.6	209.0
Exports · United States	140.1	155.2	171.2	184.1	172.9	177.0	173.1	165.1	176.7	160.7
Imports · United States	393.6	413.4	409.8	453.0	403.1	433.6	490.1	544.8	510.9	555.2
Imports · Germany	247.9	264.0	289.3	340.4	334.2	373.3	411.8	444.1	436.5	504.5
Imports · China	139.3	104.8	103.1	124.0	148.9	148.7	198.7	303.6	331.9	337.5
Imports · Japan	247.3	312.7	272.9	273.2	261.5	257.8	260.3	273.2	313.2	335.2

Origin concentration

Madagascar supplies 80% of U.S. vanilla imports, while HS 09.10 spices and essential oils spread across about ten equivalent origins

Herfindahl–Hirschman index of origin sharesHHI = Σ (100 · s_i)²
0 < HHI ≤ 10,000
Equivalent origins = 10,000 / HHI

Customs category (U.S. imports, 2024)

Origins reported105

Largest originIndia, 31.1%

Top-3 share47.7%

HHI1,251

Equivalent equal origins8.0

Leading origins of U.S. imports, HS 12.11, 2024 (share of CIF value)UN Comtrade

Rank	Origin	US$ million (CIF)	Share
1	India	172.5	31.1%
2	Mexico	61.3	11.0%
3	China	30.9	5.6%
4	Germany	29.1	5.2%
5	Colombia	24.5	4.4%
6	Egypt	24.1	4.3%
7	Nigeria	20.7	3.7%
8	Albania	18.2	3.3%
9	Canada	14.8	2.7%
10	Fiji	13.4	2.4%

Sixteen leading origins across eleven customs categories: share of each category's U.S. imports, 2024 (percent)UN Comtrade

Show data: US$ million (share of category)

Origin	All 11 categories	HS 12.11	HS 13.02	HS 13.01	HS 09.04	HS 09.05	HS 09.06	HS 09.07	HS 09.08	HS 09.09	HS 09.10	HS 33.01
India	1,262.9	172.5 (31.1%)	497.6 (29.6%)	16.6 (12.3%)	181.3 (15.7%)	0.7 (0.5%)	5.2 (3.3%)	3.5 (12.1%)	14.6 (29.4%)	85.4 (63.2%)	83.7 (18.0%)	201.8 (15.6%)
China	649.6	30.9 (5.6%)	359.9 (21.4%)	5.5 (4.1%)	112.2 (9.7%)	—	1.0 (0.6%)	0.4 (1.3%)	0.4 (0.8%)	2.4 (1.8%)	71.9 (15.4%)	64.9 (5.0%)
Viet Nam	492.6	1.1 (0.2%)	0.8 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	416.1 (36.1%)	0.0 (0.0%)	53.7 (34.0%)	1.3 (4.4%)	3.1 (6.2%)	5.6 (4.1%)	6.5 (1.4%)	4.5 (0.3%)
Mexico	438.4	61.3 (11.0%)	63.9 (3.8%)	0.1 (0.0%)	155.7 (13.5%)	0.5 (0.3%)	0.2 (0.1%)	0.0 (0.0%)	—	0.8 (0.6%)	16.2 (3.5%)	139.9 (10.8%)
Brazil	309.5	3.6 (0.6%)	28.5 (1.7%)	0.7 (0.5%)	17.8 (1.5%)	0.1 (0.1%)	0.0 (0.0%)	—	—	0.0 (0.0%)	24.9 (5.3%)	233.9 (18.1%)
Spain	289.9	5.2 (0.9%)	127.9 (7.6%)	0.1 (0.0%)	99.2 (8.6%)	0.0 (0.0%)	0.2 (0.1%)	0.6 (2.0%)	0.1 (0.2%)	1.0 (0.7%)	36.9 (7.9%)	18.8 (1.5%)
France	289.1	7.7 (1.4%)	128.9 (7.7%)	67.3 (49.7%)	0.8 (0.1%)	1.1 (0.8%)	—	0.2 (0.7%)	—	0.0 (0.0%)	1.1 (0.2%)	82.0 (6.4%)
Indonesia	223.8	5.9 (1.1%)	14.8 (0.9%)	0.1 (0.0%)	42.8 (3.7%)	8.7 (6.5%)	67.5 (42.6%)	13.7 (47.0%)	13.7 (27.6%)	0.0 (0.0%)	1.5 (0.3%)	55.0 (4.3%)
Peru	170.5	4.6 (0.8%)	4.1 (0.2%)	0.0 (0.0%)	69.3 (6.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	—	0.5 (0.3%)	64.4 (13.8%)	27.5 (2.1%)
Italy	162.0	1.0 (0.2%)	97.0 (5.8%)	0.4 (0.3%)	1.2 (0.1%)	0.0 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	—	0.0 (0.0%)	0.6 (0.4%)	1.3 (0.3%)	60.5 (4.7%)
Germany	159.5	29.1 (5.3%)	69.4 (4.1%)	6.8 (5.1%)	3.0 (0.3%)	0.0 (0.0%)	0.1 (0.1%)	0.1 (0.4%)	0.3 (0.6%)	1.0 (0.8%)	4.2 (0.9%)	45.4 (3.5%)
Madagascar	119.2	—	1.1 (0.1%)	—	0.0 (0.0%)	107.3 (79.6%)	0.4 (0.3%)	4.2 (14.6%)	—	—	0.1 (0.0%)	6.0 (0.5%)
Argentina	93.1	0.1 (0.0%)	0.3 (0.0%)	—	0.1 (0.0%)	—	—	—	—	0.0 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.0%)	92.7 (7.2%)
Canada	85.2	14.8 (2.7%)	13.5 (0.8%)	2.6 (1.9%)	0.8 (0.1%)	0.3 (0.2%)	0.4 (0.2%)	—	0.0 (0.0%)	6.5 (4.8%)	3.5 (0.7%)	42.8 (3.3%)
Türkiye	67.3	10.7 (1.9%)	2.9 (0.2%)	0.1 (0.1%)	5.4 (0.5%)	0.0 (0.0%)	1.1 (0.7%)	0.4 (1.5%)	0.0 (0.1%)	10.2 (7.5%)	31.9 (6.8%)	4.5 (0.3%)
Egypt	58.9	24.1 (4.3%)	0.2 (0.0%)	2.6 (1.9%)	1.1 (0.1%)	—	0.0 (0.0%)	0.0 (0.1%)	—	13.1 (9.7%)	8.7 (1.9%)	9.2 (0.7%)

Rows are the sixteen origins with the largest combined U.S. import value across the eleven categories. "—" = no imports reported from that origin in that category.

Each column sums to 100% across all origins (only sixteen are shown). Darker cells are larger shares; grey cells have no reported imports. Select a column heading to sort the origins by that category.UN Comtrade, reporter United States (842), annual 2024, primary value (CIF), partner = origin; retrieved October 22, 2026.

India is the largest origin in five of the eleven categories; Madagascar alone supplies 80% of U.S. vanilla imports.

Method, assumptions and limits

What it calculates: Each origin's share of U.S. import value for one HS heading in 2024, the top-3 share, the Herfindahl–Hirschman index and its inverse, the number of equal-sized origins that would give the same index.
Equations: s_i = value_i / Σ value; HHI = Σ (100 s_i)²; equivalent origins = 10,000 / HHI.
Data: UN Comtrade, reporter United States (842), all partners, annual 2024, primary value (CIF); partner = country of origin. Retrieved October 22, 2026; values can be revised.
Limits: Measures country concentration only, not supplier concentration or the concentration of a single botanical inside a heading. No threshold on this page labels a heading safe or risky; merger-review thresholds for firms do not apply to supply origins.
Assumptions: Shares are of U.S. import value (CIF) by country of origin, 2024. A country is not a supplier: one origin can hold many suppliers, and one supplier can buy from several countries. Values cover each whole heading, including non-supplement uses.
Verification: Recomputed independently from the raw API records by tests/numerics/ref/insights-global-trade.py.

Explanation, details and sources

Concentration is the first sourcing risk that trade data can measure. Choose a customs category to see the U.S. import shares of its leading origins in 2024 and two concentration measures.

Origin concentration of U.S. imports by customs category, 2024
Heading	Description	US$ million (CIF)	Origins	Largest origin (share)	Top-3 share	HHI	Equivalent origins
HS 12.11	Plants and parts of plants for perfumery, pharmacy or pesticides	555.2	105	India (31.1%)	47.7%	1,251	8.0
HS 13.02	Vegetable saps and extracts; pectin; agar, mucilages and thickeners	1,678.8	85	India (29.6%)	58.8%	1,546	6.5
HS 13.01	Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins	135.4	43	France (49.7%)	71.7%	2,798	3.6
HS 09.04	Pepper (Piper); dried capsicum and pimenta	1,153.0	75	Viet Nam (36.1%)	65.3%	1,954	5.1
HS 09.05	Vanilla	134.8	35	Madagascar (79.6%)	95.0%	6,465	1.6
HS 09.06	Cinnamon	158.3	34	Indonesia (42.6%)	94.0%	3,286	3.0
HS 09.07	Cloves	29.0	24	Indonesia (47.0%)	73.7%	2,728	3.7
HS 09.08	Nutmeg, mace and cardamoms	49.8	31	India (29.4%)	84.8%	2,446	4.1
HS 09.09	Seeds of anise, badian, fennel, coriander, cumin, caraway; juniper	135.0	54	India (63.2%)	80.5%	4,199	2.4
HS 09.10	Ginger, saffron, turmeric, thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices	466.1	97	India (17.9%)	47.2%	962	10.4
HS 33.01	Essential oils, resinoids and extracted oleoresins	1,289.8	108	Brazil (18.1%)	44.6%	893	11.2

Sourcing-risk framework Proposed framework

Five dimensions of sourcing risk, of which trade statistics can measure only concentration and part of logistics

Customs statistics measure concentration and the freight-and-insurance cost; documentation and adulteration need other evidenceProposed framework

EUTECNIQ framework; trade-data column from the UN Comtrade analyses on this page; identity testing on receipt per 21 CFR 111.75. The table below gives the measures and mitigations.

Trade data flag where to look; supplier qualification and testing on receipt decide whether a lot is acceptable.

Show the table (5 rows)

Dimension	What to measure	Where the evidence comes from	What trade data can show	Typical mitigations
Concentration	Share of supply from one country, region or supplier	Customs statistics (country level); approved-supplier lists	Country shares and HHI by heading, as above	Qualified alternate suppliers in a second region; safety stock
Documentation	Chain of custody, identity and specification records, certificates of analysis that have been checked	Supplier audits, quality agreements, FDA import alerts and refusals	Nothing; customs statistics carry no documents	Supplier qualification and identity testing on receipt (21 CFR 111.75)
Adulteration	History of substitution or economically motivated adulteration for the botanical; price pressure	Published adulteration reviews; incoming test results	Unit values can prompt questions but cannot show adulteration, because a heading mixes many plants	Orthogonal identity methods (for example HPTLC with LC-MS); audits; specifications tied to markers
Climate and harvest	Weather and climate exposure of growing regions; dependence on wild harvest; crop cycles	Agronomic and weather records; supplier harvest records	Year-to-year swings, which may reflect harvests, prices or reporting	Several growing regions; forward contracts; stock of stable material
Logistics and trade policy	Transit time and route, port and border delays, tariffs and export restrictions, shelf life in transit	Carrier data; customs rulings; trade-policy notices	The CIF–FOB gap gives an average freight and insurance cost per heading	Incoterms written into contracts; buffer stock; nearer alternates

Explanation, details and sources

This is an analytical framework EUTECNIQ proposes to use when assessing a botanical supply chain. It is not a score of any country or supplier, and it does not replace supplier qualification.

A foreign supplier's GMP certificate or certificate of analysis does not by itself establish that an ingredient is lawful and suitable for the intended U.S. use. Import requirements, including the Foreign Supplier Verification Program provisions for dietary supplements, are covered on the Global ingredients and International market access pages.

Supplier qualification, import documentation and distribution models

The Global ingredients pages set out the proposed pathway from a qualified international supplier to the U.S. market, for suppliers and for U.S. buyers.

Global ingredients International market access