NEW DELHI: India's spices exports rose by 43 per cent in value terms to Rs 6,209.09 crore during the April-November period on the back of increased realisation from small cardamom, ginger and nutmeg and mace.
The volume of shipments, however, declined by 6 per cent to 3.51 lakh tonnes during the period on account of a fall in the quantity of garlic, coriander and chilli exported.
The country's spice export earnings stood at Rs 4,335.99 crore in the same period last fiscal, whereas the volume of shipments amounted to 3.72 lakh tonnes in the same period, as per data from the Spice Board.
In US dollar terms, shipment of key food additives rose by 40 per cent to USD 1,332.25 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal, compared to USD 948.68 million in the year-ago period.
The export value of small cardamom rose more than three-fold to Rs 253.74 crore in April-November, 2011, from Rs 65.12 crore in the same period last year.
A total of 3,100 tonnes of small cardamom was exported during the period under review, as against 570 tonnes in the corresponding period a year ago.
Similarly, earnings from ginger shipments more than doubled to Rs 130.02 crore in the first eight months this fiscal from Rs 49.47 crore in the same period last fiscal, while the export value of nutmeg and mace rose by 186 per cent to Rs 157.81 crore from Rs 55.09 crore in the year-ago period.
While ginger exports rose to 11,250 tonnes from 8,650 tonnes, nutmeg and mace shipments rose to 2,550 tonnes from 1,295 tonnes.
However, the scenario was not positive in terms of export volumes, which witnessed a decline during the period, mainly due to low demand for garlic, coriander and chilli.
Shipments of garlic declined by 94 per cent to 1,075 tonnes in April-November, 2011, from 16,625 tonnes in the year-ago period, while coriander shipments fell by 41 per cent to 18,200 tonnes from 30,645 tonnes in the same period last fiscal.
The value of garlic shipments fell by 89 per cent to Rs 7.29 crore from Rs 65.81 crore, while coriander exports declined by 8 per cent to Rs 107.55 crore in April-November, 2011, from Rs 116.68 crore in the year-ago period.
Similarly, chilli export volumes declined by 24 per cent to 1.32 lakh tonnes in April-November, 2011, from 1.73 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
The value of chilli exports, however, rose by 20 per cent to Rs 1,266.25 crore from Rs 1,053.26 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
The Spice Board is aiming for overseas shipment of 5 lakh tonnes of spices to earn forex revenue of Rs 6,500 crore (USD 1,450 million) in the current financial year.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com