The outbreak of corona has impacted the demand and supply industry. The borders of the countries were closed, which concluded in high demand and less supply. This situation affected almost every industry in the world. However, Covid-19 also brought in opportunities for various industries, including Spices Industry. Considering the ill-effects of corona on a person’s health and in order to increase a person’s immunity, numerous Health Experts worldwide suggested adding some specific spices to the meal. This boomed up the demand for Spices worldwide, which eventually boosted the Spices Industry in many good ways. Indian Spices Industry, being the largest exporter of Spices in the world, was impacted hugely by the pandemic, thankfully in a positive manner.
An Introduction to Indian Spices:
Indian people’s love for spices is not hidden by the world anymore. The increasing world population and their boundless love for food lead to a prosperous and bright future for the Indian Spice Industry. India serves as the spice bowl of the world. It produces more than 75 varieties of spices and exports almost all spices to the world. Indian spices are known for their splendid aroma, perfect texture, and unique taste. Spices and herbs not only enhance the taste of food but hold medical properties also. India is the largest consumer, producer, and exporter of Spices. It is the “King of Spices” in the International market.
Health Benefits of Spices:
Spices play a vital role in Indian cuisines. They hold a rich source of antioxidants that help you in leading a healthy lifestyle. Today, a lot of spices are available in the form of supplements for increasing immunity power and to fight against Covid-19. This became the major reason behind the surge in demand for Indian organic spices. This resulted in more export of spices as compared to the previous year.
Some of the vital health benefits of the Spices of India are listed below:
- They help in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.
- They reduce the risk of heart diseases and cancer.
- Help in the mother’s milk production, reduce fat, control diabetes, and improve metabolism.
- They help in curing bloating and stomach indigestion issues, and also help in regulating menstruation.
- They are effective against cardiovascular diseases, infertility, neurological and mental illness, and fungal/bacterial infection.
- They improve body immunity against various chronic diseases.
- They also relieve IBPS pain and reduce Nausea.
Role of Spice Industry in Indian Economy:
India is known as the “LAND OF SPICES”. Spices play a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The Spice Board of India is constantly working towards the improvement, development, and promotion of Indian spices worldwide. The spice industry of India is continuously upgrading ad improving itself to cater to the demand for new products globally. India aims to cater to the global demand for spices and earn more foreign exchange; however, the spice industry exportation mainly depends on the availability of the surplus spices within the country after fulfilling the needs within the country.
1. Statistical Facts:
The Agriculture sector plays a vital role in economic growth. The Spice exportation sector is constantly improving and intending to export more and more spices. In the year FY1997 – 98, India exports 2.18L MT of spices. After that, the exportation of Spices grows gradually. The exportation percentage of spices varied from spice to spice.
| Financial Years | Quantity Exported (Metric Tons) |
| 2016 – 17 | 9,47,790 |
| 2017 – 18 | 10,28,060 |
| 2018 – 19 | 11,00,250 |
| 2019 – 20 | 12,08,400 |
| 2020 – 21 | 15,65,000 |
Data source: www.indianspices.com
2. Spices Categorization based on Economic Importance:
Spices of India are the real soul of any cuisines of the world. They not only give color to any cuisine of the world, but they also add flavors, aroma, and provide texture to it. For ages, India has enjoyed a monopoly in the international spice trade industry. The diverse climate and different soil availability within the country play a vital role in the growth of various spices.
As per the economic value spices can be categorized as follows:
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Major Spices – Black pepper, small cardamom, ginger, chili, turmeric are the major spices. These spices contribute a major share in the spice export industry.
- Minor Spices – These spices hold fewer shares in the spice export industry. These are further divided into 5 subcategories namely – Seed, Bulbous, Aromatic, Leafy, and Acidulated tree Spices.
Race of Survival in Corona:
Even the increased global demand for spices could not help the sellers/buyers having only a physical presence in the market to survive in the pandemic. Presently, there are numerous challenges in the spice sector. In such a fragile scenario, sellers/buyers not being active digitally might get out of the business. Hence, it becomes necessary to leverage the technology in a positive manner.
Numerous online B2B platforms provide you various marketing packages for the export of spices. This process may be a time-consuming and tiring task as it involves a lot of paperwork and approval. To tackle such types of messy and time-consuming situations, the sellers can approach experts available at the world’s 1st next-generation trading platform are there. These platforms not only handle all the things from paperwork to shipping but they also allow the buyers and sellers to negotiate in real-time resulting in closing the deal within few hours with the verified and genuine one. To your surprise, some of these platforms facilitate complete trade without a phone call or email.
