Spices Market In India - An Overview

Spices are an integral part of Indian cuisine and they are a commodity that is exported too. The tropical climate of India is conducive to producing cardamom, pepper, turmeric, coriander, chilli, celery, fenugreek, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, tamarind, garlic, fennel and many other minor spices. Spices are an integral part of the food and wellness industry. A growing recognition of the curative and restorative powers of spices like turmeric has taken the world by storm, boosting use and hence the international demand for spices in general. The highly unorganized market is estimated to be worth over Rs 40,000 crore annually. The organized players have a 15% share of the pie.


 The branded players in the spice market

The major players in the market are I-FLO Spices, MDH, Everest, MTR, Catch, J K, Patanjali, Aashirvaad, Tata Sampann, Sunrise and others. The Indian government has taken cognizance of the importance of the sector and the meteoritic rise in exports that draws forex. The export oriented spice parks offer facilities to both exporters and producers to process the various spices.

The export market is slated to cross USD 18 billion by 2020. The growth story is to be spear headed by the branded spices and spice mixes. The export mix has a total of 52 spices. The year on year growth is slated to grow over 20%. The Indian diaspora abroad and the prominence of global cuisine have led to the adaptation of blended spices. The major markets for Indian spices are USA, Vietnam, UAE, Iran, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Saudi Arabia and Germany.


Why the need to organize the spice market?

There has been an exponential growth in the number of working women in India. The penetration of television and social media has led to an explosion of information in even rural households. The modern woman is most likely aware of the adulteration rampant in the spice market and the demand for branded and blended spices has grown manifold. There is a definite shift from local and loose packaged spices to national brand spices.

Seed spices have also become a major point of interest. Regular vegetables and crops can be planted along with seed spices. The European and American population have a growing interest in seed spices grown naturally. India is the biggest producer of seed spices in the world. There are many efforts from both the government and private players to maximize yield in this sector.

The problem in the spice sector is lack of cohesion, effective market places and adequate storage infrastructure. As the market processes are fractured, the need of the hour is to build back links and collaborators who will process the spice market’s needs from farm to market.

There are many agro tech start-ups who are working with cutting edge technology to provide an end to end solution to this problem. The government has set up incubation units and departments that aid these start-ups to engage Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to improve market linkages and logistics.

New techniques of storing seeds and cultivation are also coming into use. The spice industry has seen a giant leap in the export and domestic market and is expected to retain and improve the market reach over the next couple of years.


About the Author
Sonia Kakkar is a freelance writer and a blogger who associates with brands and help them in their online brand promotions. Currently she is an associate at GHCL Limited – a well-diversified group that has ascertained its footprints in Chemicals, Textiles and Consumer Product Segments. In her free time, Sonia loves to watch movies, hangout with friends and read novels.  

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