India needs to enhance the share of value added component in its spices exports and look at new products like seasonings to achieve the targeted $10 billion exports by 2030 according to the exporters. India’s spices exports had touched a record $4.4 billion during 2023-24 and continue to be in an upward trend clocking a near 8 per cent growth in the April-January period of the current financial year. The Government has set an ambitious target of more than doubling exports to $10 billion by 2030 and $25 billion by 2047.
“We are now trying to strategise and see what can be done to achieve the target. Our value added component in our exports is around 50 per cent at present. Our intention is to take it up further. If we have to achieve this level of $10 billion, we have to increase the value added component to 70 per cent” said Ramkumar Menon, Chairman, World Spice Organisation and Managing Committee Member, All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF).
India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices. About 85 per cent of the spices produced in the country are consumed domestically. “We need that exportable surplus, which is currently not there,” Menon said.
The AISEF had recently organised The International Spice Conference 2025 in Bengaluru to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the spices trade and the event attracted a record number of 925 participants, of which over 250 were from overseas.
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Emmanuel Nambuserril, chairman, AISEF, said more companies are now looking at value addition in spices including nutraceuticals. He said there was a need for a radical policy shift on the part of the government to support the industry, which intends to the become the premier hub for value added spices and for processing.
“We need government support liberalising trade, allowing import of material, crucial for making products like nutraceuticals as there are certain ingredients not available in India,” Nambuserril added.
One of the areas where India could look at increasing its share overseas is the seasonings market, Menon said. “Seasonings can be a very big market for India. Our current share in the seasonings market is just 0.7 per cent, whereas countries like China is having 12 per cent and US 11 per cent share,” Menon said.
“China has generated over $2 billion of exports of seasoning and this is an area which we have to concentrate on. Here again the Government has to step in to allow the industry to import the material, which can be used for re-export,” Menon added.