Context
The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved the SPICED scheme (Sustainability in Spice Sector via Progressive, Innovative, and Collaborative Interventions for Export Development) to be carried out until 2025-26.
About
- The scheme focuses on increasing the place and productiveness of small and large cardamom, improving the best of spices for export via post-harvest upgrades, and selling value-introduced spice exports.
Key goals
- Expanding cardamom cultivation and growing productivity for export.
- Enhancing put up-harvest fine, meeting export standards, and improving compliance with protection and quality guidelines.
- Though, India is the world’s biggest spice manufacturer. It is likewise the biggest customer and exporter of spices.
Cardamom
- Cardamom is derived from the seeds of the Elettaria cardamomum plant (additionally known as green or true cardamom) and belongs to the ginger family.
- It has a one of a kind strong, heat flavor that is both spicy and sweet.
- It is categorised into two important kinds: Small Cardamom and Large Cardamom.
Small Cardamom
- Origin: Native to the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats in South India.
- Major Producers: Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu
- Favorable Growing Conditions: Loamy Soil, demand thick shade for foremost growth, temperature varies from 10°C to 35°C and demands 1500 to 4000 mm of annual rainfall.
Large Cardamom
- Distribution: Grown usually within the Sub-Himalayan regions of North Eastern India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
- Major Producers: Mainly cultivated within the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Darjeeling district of West Bengal.
- Favorable Growing Conditions: Requires a mean rainfall of 3000-3500 mm, 6°C to 30°C temperature, excessive altitudes ranging from 600 to 2000 meters and Prefers well-drained, loamy soils with rich organic matter.
About Spices Board of India
- It is an apex body established by the Government of India in 1987 below the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It was formed through merging the Cardamom Board (1968) and the Spices Export Promotion Council (1960).
- The Board oversees the promoting and export of a huge range of spices including black pepper, cardamom (small and large), ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, and more.
- HQ: Kochi, Kerala
Source: The Hindu