�Thailand has the largest plantations of the ASEAN nations, followed by Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. In India, extensive tamarind orchards produce 275,500 tons (250,000 MT) annually. The pulp is marketed in northern Malaya. It is cultivated all over India, especially in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

In Thailand a specific cultivar has been bred specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit, famous for being particularly sweet and minimally sour. It is also sometimes eaten preserved in sugar with chili as a sweet-and-spicy candy.^[12] Pad Thai, a Thai dish popular with Westerners, often includes tamarind for its tart/sweet taste (with lime juice added for sourness and fish sauce added for saltiness and umami). A tamarind-based sweet-and-sour sauce served over deep-fried fish is also a common dish in central Thailand.