Hot trade: How Indian earns billions from its spices

NEW DELHI: India has always been known as the land of spices. No delicacy in the country is complete without them. But did you know the country also rakes in thousands of crores by exporting its exotic spices to the world?

Data recently released by the government shows how India's spice trade has boomed in the recent years, with the country exporting a whopping Rs 29,529 crore worth of spices in 2020-21.


In fact, since the 1960s, when India's spice export share was worth just Rs 17 crore, India has registered a 120-fold rise in the value of exports.

Notably, India is the largest exporter of spices in the world.

With spices witnessing increasing demand not just in India, but across the world, India's export quantity has seen a manifold rise. It has gone from 47,200 tonnes in 1960-61 to over 1.6 lakh tonnes in 2020-21.



Pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, celery, fennel, fenugreek, nutmeg, spice oils and oleoresins, and mint products are the major spices shipped abroad.

Indian spices reach almost to the entire world while the main importers include the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, UAE, Iran, Singapore, China and Bangladesh, among others.

The demand for India spices has increased significantly since the Covid pandemic. India has now set a $10 billion export target by FY 2027.



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