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The Fiery Foods Industry–Ten Years Ago
by Dave DeWitt
In mid-1989, as the editor of The Whole Chile Pepper Magazine, I decided to undertake the task of determining the size of the Fiery Foods Industry, which consists of those products made with, or concerning chile peppers. I had no idea that I would encounter so many problems in digging up the statistics, but I persevered. I found widely differing figures from various sources, which indicates that many of these figures are themselves estimates--or, educated guesses. In all cases, I selected the lowest figures so I would not be accused of exaggerating the size of the industry. The results show that the size of the Fiery Foods industry was approximately $1.7 billion at that time.
Now in 1999, the industry is worth about $2.5 billion and is going even stronger than before. After a decade, however, we here at Fiery Foods Magazine feel that it is once again time to take stock of our industry, updating information on all categories, and perhaps even adding some categories.
The following information is a reference point of where we have been. Please help us with our survey in the coming months to determine where we are now, and where we are going.
The Financial Size of the Fiery Foods Industry
by Dave DeWitt, originally published 1990
Statistics (In Millions of Dollars)
Grower Level
Chile Pepper Research (1).............................................................................2.5
Produce--Fresh and Dried Chile Peppers
American
Fresh and dried, all varieties
New Mexico (2)..............................................................................................38.6
Texas (3)...........................................................................................................3.2
California (4)...................................................................................................13.0
Arizona (5)....................................................................................................... .6
Louisiana (6).................................................................................................... .5
Seed and seedlings (7)........................................................................................1.5Imported (8)
Anaheim and ancho...........................................................................................1.8
Other................................................................................................................10.8
Ground...............................................................................................................1.4
Paprika...............................................................................................................8.5
Paprika Oleoresin.............................................................................................11.4Exported (9)
Red Pepper...................................................................................................... 5.0
Total, Grower Level.......................................................................................96.3
Manufacturer Level
Products Containing Chile Peppers, Wholesale Prices.Canned Chiles (10)
Canned green chile.............................................................................................9.0
Canned jalapeņos............................................................................................120.0Frozen Green Chile
New Mexico (11)................................................................................................3.0
Dried Red Chile (12)
Red chile powders..............................................................................................27.0
Paprika...............................................................................................................38.0Spices
Chile seasonings (13)..........................................................................................30.0
Curry powder (14)...............................................................................................1.4Pickled Peppers
All varieties, U.S. (15)...................................................................................... 100.0
Imported (16).....................................................................................................10.0Hot Sauces and Salsas
Louisiana-type (17).............................................................................................69.0
Oriental (18).......................................................................................................11.8
Chili (19)............................................................................................................17.0
Mexican-type (20)............................................................................................410.8
Barbecue, hot (21)..............................................................................................37.9Imported hot sauces (22).......................................................................................6.9
Canned Food
Mexican (23).....................................................................................................375.0
Frozen Foods
Mexican (24).....................................................................................................249.9
Mustards
Chile, domestic (25)..............................................................................................2.3
Non-Food Items (26)
Publications...........................................................................................................1.0
Other non-food items.............................................................................................3.0
Miscellaneous
Includes snack foods and candies,
chile oils, chutneys, and liquors (27)...................................................................... 10.0
Total, Manufacturer Level............................................................................1,614.0
Total, Fiery Foods Industry.......................................................................... 1,710.3
*By "chile peppers" we mean commercial fruits of the genus Capsicum, species annuum, baccatum, chinense, frutescens, and pubescens.
Other criteria: figures are for sales in the U.S. only; figures are on producer or wholesale level, not retail; figures are 1989 or closest year unless specified; figures do not include retail sales by restaurants, or sales for foodservice.
Thanks to the following people and companies for assistance in preparing this report: Paul Bosland, Mike Griffin, Steve Dawson, Sam Ramos, Tim Vaughn, Bill Gomez, Antonio Heras-Duran, Acadiana Pepper Co., Cal-Compack Foods, and Pickle Packers Int’l.
Notes:
1. Source: New Mexico State University; Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
2. Source: NM Department of Agriculture.
3. 1982 Agricultural Census: Acres converted to dollars on ratio of $1600 per acre.
4. California Agricultural Statistics Service estimate for dried red chile and paprika on 3,460 acres in 1988 plus 2154 additional acres listed in U.S Department of Agriculture Census multiplied by $1600 per acre.
5. 1987 estimate from U.S. agricultural Census; acreage converted to dollars at $1600 per acre.
6. 1978 estimate from U.S. agricultural Census; acreage converted to dollars at $1600 per acre.
7. Estimate from New Mexico State University.
8. 1988 figures from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.
9. 1988 figures from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.
10. Source: SAMI. Arbitron.
11. Whole Chile Pepper estimate based on industry interviews.
12. Whole Chile Pepper estimate based on industry interviews.
13. Whole Chile Pepper estimate based on industry interviews.
14. Import value; Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.
15. Source: Pickle Packers International.
16. Estimated at 10 % of domestic--probably low.
17. Source: Packaged Facts.
18. Source: Packaged Facts (10% of all Oriental sauces).
19. Source: Packaged Facts.
20. Source: Packaged Facts.
21. Source: Packaged Facts (Estimate is 10% of Barbecue sauce market).
22. Estimate is 10% of Louisiana-type sauces.
23. Source: SAMI, Arbitron.
24. Source: Standard and Poors, 1987.
25. Source: Frost and Sullivan; estimate is 10% of mustard sales.
26. Whole Chile Pepper estimate.
27. Whole Chile Pepper estimate.