Comoros

In the Comoros archipelago, smallholder farmers grow hot peppers alongside vanilla, cloves, and ylang-ylang, mainly Capsicum frutescens and annuum types comparable to African bird’s eye and red cayenne.

These chilies, often called piment, are sold fresh and dried in local markets. In Comorian cuisine, hot peppers flavour coconut-based fish and seafood curries, rice dishes, and meat stews such as pilao. A common condiment is pili-pili: bird’s eye–type chilies mashed with garlic, lime, and oil, served with grilled fish and fried snacks. Some households pickle chilies in vinegar for longer storage.

While export focus is on high-value crops like vanilla, local and regional demand for piment supports small-scale chili production. Bird’s eye–type peppers in Comoros share affinities with East African peri-peri and Malagasy chilies, contributing distinctive heat to the islands’ Indian Ocean fusion cuisine.