Spices Board celebrates 36th Anniversary 

Diversification of exports markets and  creating Brand India will strengthen the entire value chain’:  Rajesh Agrawal IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce

 “Diversification of exports markets and  creating Brand India  in the spices sector will  help make India more sustainable and resilient in the  export of spices. This will give strength to the entire value chain”  said Shri Rajesh Agrawal IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, while inaugurating the 36th Anniversary Celebrations of Spices Board at Kochi. 

Interacting with the  spice industry leaders and exporters, the Additional Secretary opined “if more value addition happens within the economy, this will make the sector more resilient”. He also called for leveraging of technology and   public- private partnerships for further growth and developments in the  spices sector. 

Addressing the exporters and other stakeholders at the function, Shri D Sathiyan IFS, Secretary, Spices Board informed that the Board has been strategizing to achieve 10 Bn USD in exports of spices by 2030  and requested for insights from the stakeholders on key potential and emerging markets and  the stumbling  barriers in  trade of spices for collective action.  

As part of  its 36th anniversary celebrations, a panel discussion  with spice industry leaders and exporters on doubling exports was organised. The panel discussion chaired by Shri Rajesh Agrawal IAS  witnessed active participation of experts from different sectors of the spice industry and representatives of spice exporters associations. On the sidelines of the panel discussion,  a compendium on the key schemes for the spices exporters  compiled  and prepared by YES Bank and Spices Board was released by Shri Rajesh Agrawal IAS, Additional Secretary and the appeal mechanism designed  in the Quality  Management System of Spices Board for export of spices was introduced before the stakeholders. 

On its 36th Foundation Day, Spices Board also organised a nation-wide campaign  on ‘Clean and Safe Spices’ covering  more than 20 states/UT to spread the message and awareness on food safety and quality of spices for producing surplus quality  spices.

Spices Board (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India), the flagship organization for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices, was constituted on 26th February 1987 with the merger of erstwhile Cardamom Board and Spices Export Promotion Council.  The Board functions an international link between the Indian exporters and the importers abroad  and it has been involved in various activities which touch upon every segment of the spices sector.

Quality management in spice exports boosted by a new appeal mechanism and exporter schemes to improve compliance and market access. Spices Board emphasises market diversification, value addition, technology adoption and public private partnerships to strengthen the spices value chain; it introduced an appeal mechanism within the Quality Management System, released a compendium of exporter schemes, and ran a nationwide food safety campaign to improve compliance and export competitiveness.