Spices exports are faring well this year. According to data released recently, the export of spices has shown a growth of 25 per cent to 1,11,420 tonnes in the first quarter of the current year.
In value terms, the exports increased by 36 per cent to touch Rs 967.30 crore (Rs 9.67 billion) during the quarter.
The achievement in the first quarter is 29 per cent of the quantity target of 3,80,000 tonnes for the year. Exports earnings in the first quarter are 27 per cent of the value target of Rs 3,600 crore (Rs 36 billion) for the year.
Exports in dollar terms stood at $234.53 million during the quarter against $156.63 million during the same period of the previous year.
Spices
such as pepper, large cardamom, chilli, coriander, fennel, fenugreek and nutmeg and mace performed better than last year.
Among the value-added spices, curry powder and spice oils and oleoresins have done better.
In the case of mint products, even though there is a marginal decline in the quantity of exports, the value realised has shown significant improvement.
Performance of some of the goods like small cardamom, ginger, cumin, celery, garlic and vanilla fell short of last year's levels.
The appreciation in rupee will have an impact on India's competitive edge over other producing countries, which may result in a drop in the export of spices and spice products in the coming months.