Spices Board: India’s Total Spice Exports Scaled landmark level of $4 billion

The Spices Board has sought to elevate India’s share of spices and product exports by focusing on buyer-seller meets and other market linkage programs through virtual platforms. As per the Spices Board, the total share of spice exports raised the landmark level of $4 billion in value realization during 2020-21. 

D. Sathiyan, Secretary of, Spices Board, said that the Board has been organizing a series of virtual buyer-seller-meets to make sure that there’s no hindrance or gap in the sourcing & supply of spices from the country. It has been aggressively taking a lead in strengthening and promoting the Indian-International spice trade for the larger benefits of the spice community, more so during the pandemic time.

UAE: An Export Destination

UAE is India's 4th largest export destination for spices. Therefore, the Indian spice sector views Dubai as a leading consumer of spices, but also as a re-export hub, where Indian spices are re-exported to other regions of the world.

UAE exported about 115400 tonnes of spices valued at $220 million to that country in 2020-21, which accounts for 6 percent in volume and 5 percent in value of the total spice exports.

“India’s total spice exports, with a volume of 17,58,985 tonnes valued at $4178.81 million during 2020-21, scaled the landmark level of $4 billion in value realization, besides recording a growth rate of 37 percent in volume, 16 percent in rupee terms and 11 percent in dollar terms, in spite of the global pandemic situation,” Sathiyan said.

Herbs & Spices are a crucial part of UAE cuisines. Cumin, Chilies, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Turmeric, and Caraway are some of the preferred spices of the UAE.

The famous cuisines like Majboos and Kabsa include a wide variety of spices like saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay leaves, etc. 

Cardamom is the major ingredient of Kawah, their traditional preparation of coffee, which is generally used in the Gulf countries as an energy booster, having enormous health benefits. Apart from this, around 250 Indian exporters and 40 potential buyers from West Asia participated in the buyer-seller meet.