India's SPICE DIPLOMACY

The government through the Spices Board has laid importance on infrastructure development for quality evaluation, research and development and has also encouraged India’s spices to be a part of the global trading market via participation in international fairs and has also set up Spice Parks or the benefit of producers and exporters.

- Bishaldeep Kakati and Bagmita Borthakur

Ancient Indian texts often refer to food as the ultimate healer and curer which can be understood by a popular quote from the Indian ancient texts, “aushadham ucchyathe sarvam”. The land of India since time immemorial has always been known for its vivid cuisines, which is accompanied by native Indian spices. The spices of India, are so popular, that it also has a history of trading with civilizations of ancient China and Rome. The Indian spices, even till date, have been internationally recognized for their medicinal value, aroma, taste and texture. According to the list of notable spices, prepared by the ISO, India alone produces 75 out of the total 109 varieties of recognized spices.

The popularity of the Indian spices globally has thereby enhanced the Indian spice industry and data shows that the Indian spice industry is a big boost to the Indian economy as well. According to data reported, in the fi nancial year 2020, spices worth over 3.62 Billion USD were exported by India. In fact, between the period from April 2020 and March 2021, an export value of spices worth 4 Billion USD was achieved by India. Further, from the official sources of Indian Brand Equity Formation, it was known that a whooping 1.08 billion KG of diff erent spices was exported by India, during the year 2017-18. Along with it, a report on the spices market (2021-26) by Industry ARC foresees the continuing growth of the spice market with a 4.80% CAGR between the period from 2019-25.