Paying 30 to 150 euros for a kilo of dried chiles in Germany? When a colleague jokingly suggested we should go into the dried chile business here, the numbers sounded like the business of the century. But, as it usually goes, reality is more complicated.
The price difference tells the story of two very different worlds. In Mexico, chile is part of everyday life, an ingredient almost as basic as salt. That is no coincidence: Mexico produces more than 3.3 million tons of chile per year and is the second largest producer in the world after China. This abundance, together with a well‑established distribution network and constant demand, keeps prices accessible for the local market.
Europe looks completely different. Here, dried chile is still a niche product that has to cross oceans before it lands in European kitchens. Some European countries do have their own chili traditions: Italy celebrates its peperoncino calabrese, Hungary is famous for its paprika, and Turkey produces the distinctive pul biber. Each region has developed its own iconic products: from explosive Italian Bomba Calabrese to refined Hungarian Különleges paprika, and the versatile Turkish biber salçası.
But the decisive factor behind European prices is, without a doubt, limited demand. This is slowly changing, and Berlin is the perfect example of that transformation. In just five years, the city has gone through a true Mexican food boom: from having just a handful of taquerías, we’ve reached a point where you can find tacos in almost every neighborhood. Mexican food has become so popular that restaurants of all kinds and levels have started adding their own interpretations of Mexican dishes to their menus. A great example is Tupac Berlin, by renowned chef Ariel Peralta, which has incorporated tacos into its concept, showing how Mexican cuisine is earning a place in the city’s more sophisticated culinary scene.
Many shops now proudly display their Valentina hot sauce and Takis (which you even see in supermarket chains) as trophies of globalization, and finding tortillas and dried chiles in some stores is no longer a rarity. But these products, especially dried chiles, remain expensive because current demand still doesn’t justify importing volumes large enough to significantly reduce costs.
Even though we decided not to jump into the chile business, this price gap made me curious: how does the economy of chile actually work? Who are the real winners along this chain? The answer starts with a simple seed.
