Spices Board to set up ten Spice Parks in India

Kochi, May 17: Aiming to make India, a major spices processing hub by 2012, the Spices Board is planning to set up ten 'Spice parks' in different parts of the country during the 11th plan, Board Chairman V J Kurian said.

There was a big market for export of value-added spices and India should focus on tapping this segment, Mr Kurian said at a press conference here last night.

Among the areas already identified for the spice parks were Idukki in Kerala and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. One park would come up in Madhya Pradesh also though the exact location had not yet been decided.

Citing the case of mint as a spice which gained tremendously by value-addition, Mr Kurian said almost one-third of India's mint exports were going to China, which was able to re-export at a higher price after crystallisation to the US and European countries, where it was in great demand for the chewing gum and toothpaste industries.

Efforts were on to make menthol crystals with mint in India itself for the US market, he said.

Mr Kurian said the Board was also in the process of finalising a ''vision document'' for the growth of the spices sector. This was likely to be released after three months.

India's share in the world trade in spices was 44 per cent in volume terms and 35 per cent in value terms, he said.

The Spices Board along with the All India Spices Exporters Association would host the World Spice Congress in Goa from January 28 to 30, 2008, he informed.

An electronic stock exchange for spice trade was likely to start functioning from July.

About promotion of organically grown spices, Mr Kurian said the Board could give subsidy for these.

Stating that the 'Flavourit' brand of premium quality spices launched by the Spices Board for the export market had not elicited a strong market response, he said there were plans to re-launch it domestically.

A proposal to market these quality spices through the 'Mother Dairy' network was being considered. ''We hope to get some breakthrough in this in the next few months,'' he added.

UNI