AHMEDABAD: With India virtually becoming the only major supplier of cumin seed (jeera) in the world, its exports from the country jumped 40% in 2020-21. Demand growth from overseas countries further aided the surge in exports. Being the largest producer of the spice,Gujarat accounts for 60-70% of its exports from India, said market players.
The cumin exports from the country are estimated to be 2.99 lakh tonnes in 2020-21, which shows an increase of 40% over 2.14 lakh tonnes shipped in 2019-20, shows data compiled by the Spice Board India,, union ministry of commerce and industry.
In value terms, cumin exports rose 28% to Rs 4,253 crore in fiscal 2021 from Rs 3,328 crore in the previous financial year, the Spice Board data further shows.
“Syria and Turkey are the closest rivals of India in cumin exports, and they together used to export some 40,000-50,000 tonnes of cumin annually. However, their exports have dwindled to the negligible level due to several reasons in past two years. Hence, India is virtually become the only supplier of cumin,” said Ashwin Nayak, founding chairman, Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS).
Apart from this, there was also a good demand from American, European and Latin American countries as well as China, which pushed up exports, said market players. “The demand in export is more than the local markets now,” added Nayak.
According to the Spice Board, the estimated cumin production in Gujarat stood at 4.29 lakh tonnes in 2020-21, which showed a drop of 11% from 4.81 lakh tonnes produced in 2019-20.
The crop in Rajasthan, other major producer of the spice in India, also declined to 4.25 lakh tonnes from 4.28 lakh tonnes.
Source:thetimesofindia.com