Paprika
from Peru

Peru's Pacific coast is one of the world's reliable paprika origins. The rainless desert, the wide day-night temperature swing, and irrigation from Andean rivers let Capsicum annuum ripen to deep red with high extractable color. Growers pick the pods by hand once they turn fully red, then sun-dry them on the coast, where dry air and steady sun preserve the carotenoid pigment. Higher production volumes run from March through July, while coastal conditions allow staggered planting for near year-round supply.

Most Peruvian paprika is sweet and non-pungent, valued for color rather than heat. Fruit from Ica, Arequipa, La Libertad, and Lambayeque is trucked to processing hubs such as Barranca, north of Lima, for cleaning, grading, milling, and packing. Buyers take three main forms: whole dried pods for re-grinding and oleoresin extraction, ground powder standardized to ASTA color grades, and lots destined for solvent extraction into paprika oleoresin, a natural food colorant used across processed foods, meats, snacks, and feed.