Trade, import and export for MSMEs: Spice exports from India have doubled in the last nine years, reaching the value of Rs 3,995 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23 from Rs 1,778 crore in 2013-14. The Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to share the achievement of the spice industry.
The data from the Ministry of Commerce reveals that spices from India were exported to over 165 countries in the fiscal year 2022-23. Among the top export destinations of Indian spices are Bangladesh, UAE, Morocco, Netherlands, Germany and the USA amongst others.
India is the world’s leading producer of spices, producing 15.31 lakh tons of spices in the years 2021-22 and 2022-23. The data is sourced from the Spice Board of India, the statutory body under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Viren Khona, Secretary of the All India Spices Exporter Forum, an association of more than 170 spice exporters based in Ernakulam, Kerala, said, “Over the years, export promotion activities from the government’s end have benefitted the exporters. During the Covid phase, demand for immunity-building spices like turmeric and ginger witnessed a great surge. Also, people at home were trying different cuisines, and that helped in the demand for spices, both in the domestic as well as in international markets.”
However, Khona added that the surge in demand post the pandemic has cooled down as a result export value has remained the same for the last two years at $4 billion.
The spice industry in India mainly comprises a large number of rural MSMEs primarily located in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.
Siby Chacko, a Kerala-based exporter who deals in cardamom and cloves, said there are several barriers impeding the growth of the micro-enterprises in the spices sector. These include finding demand in the international market, managing fraudulent customers, high interest on packing credit by banks (loan to an exporter for financing the purchase, manufacturing or packing of goods prior to shipping) and reluctance to pay pre-shipping charges.