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Evolution of Spices and Spice Products in India
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Saturday, 13 November, 2021, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Venkatesh Ganapathy
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Spices are aromatic products of vegetable origin obtained from various roots, barks, leaves and stems of certain plants. They are valued for their distinctive color, flavours and aroma in cooking. One cannot imagine an Indian kitchen without a kitchen shelf devoted to storage of spices.
Most spices have also therapeutic and medicinal properties. The growth of convenience foods and fast foods has also led to increased domestic demand for spices and spice derivatives in India. With consumers laying greater emphasis on sustainability and quality, the demand for organic spices is growing.
In 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama travelled by sea from Europe to India. This revolutionised global trade forever. Macroeconomic factors and changing consumer preferences have greatly influenced the growth of trade in spices leading to opening up of new export destinations and establishing of new market segments. As people in UK began embracing a vegan lifestyle, spices proved to be substitutes for flavouring meat substitutes. Increased demand for spices and spice products has led to increase in imports from China and India. Cambodia is emerging as a production center for spices like pepper.
Trade in Spices
Globalisation has played a crucial role in the growth of trade in spices. Migration of people from one nation to another nation has resulted in a shift in the food culture. For example -Indian migrants in UK have impacted the food culture in UK; Mexican and Thai food are now being consumed in India. The changes in food preferences have led to exploration of new exotic spice flavours. US market has witnessed increased interest in consumption of pepper and use of east African flavours.
The size of annual global spice market is $15 billion. The spice industry is expected to increase by 5% every year to reach a market size of $23 billion by 2026.
India is the world’s largest exporter of spices (50%) followed by Vietnam and China. India imports $750 million of raw spices every year. India has also become a major processing center for spices from other countries. In India, spices have been grown in small land holdings. India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices. Indian spices are sought after globally due to their exquisite aroma, texture, taste and medicinal value. India produces about 75 of the 109 varieties of spices listed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and accounts for half of the global trading in spices.
Among whole spices, India primarily exports pepper, chilli, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, celery, nutmeg and mace garlic, tamarind and vanilla. Oleoresins and volatile oils are obtained by extraction of ground spices with organic solvents. These being volatile in nature need to be properly packed and protected. The chief oleoresins are from pepper, chillis, turmeric and ginger. Processed spices such as spice oils and oleoresins, mint products, curry powder, spice powders, blends and seasonings are also exported.
US is the major export destination for India followed by China, Vietnam, the UAE, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, Singapore and Sri Lanka. During FY19, India’s chili export stood at 468,500 tonnes, cumin export at 180,300 tonnes, turmeric export at 133,600 tonnes and cardamom large export at 860 tonnes.
In FY20, spices worth $ 3.62 billion were exported from India. In FY20 (till December 2019), ginger export showed the highest growth of 47% with 19,410 tonnes, followed by cardamom with 31% at 1,060 tonnes and cumin with 14% at 7,350 tonnes. Top importers of Indian spices in FY21 were US, UAE, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada. The total spices export during April 2020 to March 2021 was $ 4.00 billion. During 2020-21, India exported 1,15,400 MT of spices valued $ 220mn to UAE.
Quality Control in Spices
The Spices Board of India provides quality control and certification, registers exporters, documents trade information and provides inputs to the Central Government on policy matters. The board participates in major international fairs and food exhibitions to promote Indian spices.
The Quality Evaluation Laboratory was established by the Spices Board in 1989 for monitoring the quality of spices produced and processed in the country. The quality standards that are applicable are BIS, FSSAI, AGMARK, ASTA, and ESA.
Need for Packaging
Dew can form on spices due to improper ventilation and excess heat. Increased humidity can lead to microbial contamination of spices. Oxidation can lead to loss of aroma of spices. Exposure to sunlight can lead to discoloration of spices. Infestation of spices by insects is another possibility.
Excess moisture has to be eliminated as it can lead to deterioration of the product. All these challenges highlight a greater need for protecting spices through appropriate and effective packaging. There is ample scope for the development and evaluation of new materials for packaging of spices. PP/ HDPE woven sacks are now preferred over jute as they are easily available, light weight and hygienic. Standardised packaging materials when used to pack spices retain fragrance, property and extend higher shelf life of all products.
Recent developments
The Spices Board has been conducting buyer-seller meets on digital platform to ensure removal of bottlenecks in sourcing and supply of spices from India. The aim is to increase the share of exports to achieve the export target of spices and spice products worth $207.88 million. Demand for spices has gone up after the Covid19 pandemic due to their immunity boosting properties. Farmers need to be educated to adopt good farming practices free from pesticides.
Use of technology in sale of spices is another development with E-auctions for cardamom introduced in India in 2007. Artificial intelligence, lifestyle changes and international trade are shaping the future evolution of the spice trade. Artificial intelligence is used to develop new spice blends and explore consumer preferences for new flavour combinations.
The World Spice Congress (established in 1990), has been successful in ensuring that its voice about the concerns of the sector is heard across the globe. Producers, traders, processors and exporters discuss on a broad range of issues ranging from trade, sustainability, quality and food safety initiatives. The utility of spices is no longer confined to culinary interests. Spices have multi-functional utilities in food preservation, food safety, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmetics. There is renewed interest in organic production of spices, quality standards, value addition and product innovation.
The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH), has recommended quality standards for cloves, oregano, basil, and ginger and these have been socialized with Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC), to be adopted as a Codex standard. Codex standards are proposed to be developed for small cardamom and turmeric. It is expected that the time needed for finalizing the standards of individual spices will be considerably reduced. The industry is keen to develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), is an intergovernmental body established in 1963 jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The main objective of this initiative was to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
India's spice exports (volume of 17,58,985 MT valued at $4178.81 million during 2020-21) has scaled the landmark level of 4 billion dollars in value realisation. This is great news.
(The author works with Presidency College, Bangalore)
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