Spice export volumes continue to fall

The fall in spices exports continued into August as the volume of exports in the April - August period this year registered a drop of 23 per cent. Exports declined 24 per cent in April - July period and 26 per cent in April - June period (Q1).

During April-August, a total of 195,500 tonnes of spices and spice products valued Rs 3,365.20 crore ($751.52 million) has been exported as against 255,100 tonnes valued at Rs 2,676.18 crore ($ 581.15 million) in the same period of the last fiscal. An increase of 26 percent was registered in value in rupee terms, while in dollar terms the increase was 29 percent.

 

Export of pepper, cardamom (small), cardamom (large), ginger, turmeric, nutmeg and mace, tamarind and asafoetida have shown an increase both in volume and value, compared to April-August 2010. Also, the export of value-added product, curry powder or paste, has increased both in volume and value but in the case of spice oils and oleoresins and mint products, the increase was in terms of value only. The export of other spice items has shown decline both in volume and value as compared to last year, according to the latest data of the Spices Board.

A total quantity of 8,750 tonnes of pepper valued at Rs 234.35 crore have been exported as against 7,800 tonnes valued at Rs134.82 crore.  The unit value of pepper has increased from Rs 172.85 per kg in April-August 2010 to Rs 267.83 per kg. Around 1,450 tonnes of cardamom (small) worth Rs 129.95 crore was exported as against 235 tonnes valued Rs 27.99 crore, registering an increase of 517 percent in quantity and 364 percent in value. 

During the period, 240 tonnes of cardamom (large) valued Rs 19.07 crore have been exported as against 95 tonnes valued Rs 5.20 crore of last year, registering an increase of 153 percent in quantity and 267 percent in value. The unit value of cardamom (large) has increased from Rs 546.93 per kg to Rs 794.79 per kg.

India exported 36,500 tonnes of turmeric valued Rs 395.76 crore as against 24,000 tonnes valued Rs 321.64 crore, registering an increase of  52 percent in quantity and 23 percent in value. During the period April-August 2011, exports of 7,500 tonnes of ginger valued Rs 82.02 crore took place as against 5,000 tonnes valued Rs 31.20 crore of last year registering an increase of 50 percent in quantity and 163 percent in value.

In the case of value-added products, exports were 7,000 tonnes of curry powder/paste worth Rs 99.53 crore as against 6,425 tonnes valued Rs 83.55 crore. Also, the exports of spice oils and oleoresins have registered an increase of 38 percent  in value and in the case of mint products there is an increase of 58 percent in value as compared to last year.

Garlic has suffered the most serious setback as shipments declied 93 per cent in volume and 90 per cent in value. Garlic export dropped to 1,000 tonnes valued at Rs 5.37 crore from 14,975 tonnes valued at Rs 56.20 crore. About 12,750 tonnes of coriander valued at Rs 75.37 crore were shipped as against 23,850 tones valued at Rs 87.39 crore in April -August 2010, registering a drop of 47 per cent in volume and 14 per cent in value.

Likewise, chilli export also registered a fall of 39 per cent in quantity and three per cent in value, while 68,000 tonnes of chilli valued Rs 655.75 crore were shipped as against 111,000 tones valued Rs 673.17 crore.

Compared to the export target of 500,000 tonnes, worth Rs 6,500 crore ($1.45 billion) fixed for the financial year 2011-12, the achievement so far is 39 percent in terms of quantity and 52 percent in rupee and dollar terms of value.