Spices: Area, Production, and Export Scenario

Spices and their derivatives are used in flavoring food and beverages from very ancient times, and the fame of Indian spices, over centuries, has bestowed a well-deserved strategic advantage for spice export. Spice crops yield high-value low-volume commodities with significant export orientation and yield a high value of output per unit area. India produced 10.1 million tonnes of spices from an area of 4.51 million hectares during 2019–2020 and exported only about 12% of the domestic output with the remaining production being consumed within the country. Even though more than 60 spices are commercially cultivated in India due to the diversity in the country’s climatic conditions, some major spices, viz., black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, chilies, tree spices, and seed spices like coriander, cumin, fennel, and fenugreek, contribute majorly to their production and export. During 2020–2021, the export of spices and spice products from India has been 1.8 million tonnes valued at 4178.80 million USD. India’s share in the world spice trade is 45–50% by volume, and the share of spice export in total agricultural exports (in value terms) has increased to 10.3% in 2019–2020. Significant changes have occurred in the pattern of spice export over the last two decades, where chilies and cumin have emerged as the major export commodities among spices and export earnings from black pepper has declined to less than 5%. The highest quantity and value of exported ginger and turmeric was realized during 2020–2021 due to the demand for these spices owing to their immunity-boosting capacities during the COVID pandemic. The spice oils and oleoresins and mint products are the other major components of Indian spice exports. This chapter covers the trends and details in area, production, and productivity of majorly grown spices in the country over a few decades and the export profiles of different spices product-wise or country-wise. Spices exported from India reach almost every part of the globe, mainly China, the USA, EU and SAARC, and West Asia and East Asian regions. Three countries, viz., China, the USA, and Bangladesh together account for 45.4% of the total spice exports. Among the European Union countries, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Spain are the major importers of spices from India. UAE and Saudi Arabia are the major export destinations in the West Asian region. However, the competition for global markets has increased over the years, demanding improved efficiency of production while maintaining high quality of the produce from the primary production sector of spice commodities. The promotion of organic spices and value-added spices also needs more attention in this context. To exploit the global market, diversified uses of spices across various applications like food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and wellness industries need to be developed and promoted.