'Quality of spices exports have improved'

The quality of spices exported from the country has improved, which has reduced the number of shipments being rejected on quality complaints, a senior official said today.
"Out of the total production of spices in India, around 90 per cent is consumed in the country itself. Ten per cent is exported. That 10 per cent which we export has captured 50 per cent of world spices market," Chairman of Indian Spices Board A Jayathilak said here.
"In 2011, many of our consignments were rejected due to issue of quality, but last year the figure has come substantially down.
"We have established testing laboratories at all the major ports including Kandla in Gujarat. We check the quality of every consignment that is exported. After that, the rejection rate has come down," he said.

The three-day 'World Spice Congress', to be held here from tomorrow, is likely to be attended by over 1,000 participants, he said.
"Our aim would be to educate more and more people involved with spice production to maintain quality," he said.

Spices exports from India last year touched 8.94 lakh MT, valued at Rs 15,000 crore (USD 2.433 billion).
A spices exhibition will be inaugurated by Union Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia. The main event will be inaugurated by Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The meet will provide a platform for discussions between importers, exporters, regulators and other stakeholders of the spice industry, Jayathilak said.