14th World Spice Congress
“Spices unite India. Spices of India resonate across the country and reflect the rich traditional culture and heritage along with our well-known trading power. We have to once again bring back the old charm that Indian spices had across the world. India doesn’t settle for second best anymore. We have to become a world leader in the Spice Industry” said Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Addressing the gathering as a keynote speaker at the 14th World Spice Congress held at Navi Mumbai from September 15-17, 2023, Goyal, emphasised the need to expand the spice industry through value addition to exports. He urged the industry stakeholders to work together to achieve a target of $10 billion dollars for exports by 2030 from the current $4 billion. He stated that achieving the target would require everyone to work together with focused energies to capture newer markets through increased value addition along with expanding existing markets. He also suggested that the 35 million people of Indian origin residing across the world be made brand ambassadors to encourage increased consumption of Spices across the world.
Goyal urged the spice industry to strive towards inclusivity and ensure support to farmers for adequate production. He also spoke on the importance of creating a certified brand value for Indian spices.
The minister noted that there was no better time to conduct this Congress than on the sidelines of the Indian presidency of G20. “The launch of the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor is similar to the Spice Route of the past. So, we should be actually looking up to this new initiative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched along with other world leaders. This is an appropriate opportunity for us to bring back the glory of the old Spice Route.”
The minister further said, “It is an opportunity to celebrate the flavours of India and the versatility the country offers. Let us go to capture world markets. Just like life is incomplete without celebrations, food would be incomplete without spices. We should make this an essential ingredient across the world. The story of Indian Spices should be talked about and written about all over the world.”
“Let us see how our grandmother’s remedies can be the remedies of the world. Let’s make India the preferred source of spices and capture the imagination of the rest of the world. If we all work together as a team, we can spice up the world of commerce and exports. Let us delight the world with the magic of spices and let us preserve this magic for future generations” appealed the minister to those present on the occasion.
In conclusion, the minister congratulated the Spices Board on conducting the Spice Congress after a hiatus of seven years and also requested it to organise a world class exposition, symposium and conference of the spice industry in Delhi in the year 2024. He asked the Board to invite all the players in the industry for the event and allow the world to see India’s capabilities
In his address, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary, Government of India and Chairman, Spices Board, said, “To ensure that India continues to maintain its traditional strength there are several things to work on, in the entire chain of spices, from growers to marketers. It is a shared responsibility of the government and Spices Board to come up with schemes and programmes to facilitate testing labs, assessment quality standards, etc.”
Speaking on the occasion, D Sathiyan, Secretary, Spices Board, said, “There is tremendous potential to explore product development, biotech, etc. in India. More than 75 spices are grown in India and each state has spices to offer.”
The Congress witnessed the launch of a book called ‘Spice Revolution – Promoting Value Addition in Global Spices Trade’ along with the product launch of ‘Onboarding of Flavourit Spices to Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in association with YES Bank’ and the launch of cardamom-based nutraceutical capsules’ Recovereez Forte”, by Dr Prashant Varkey, Zum Helen Diagnostic & Therapeutics Pvt Ltd. An experience zone that gave a hands-on experience to visitors in the universe of spices was another attraction of the Congress. At the zone, the delegates and participants get a holistic feel of spices related to the gustatory, olfactory, and visual senses.
Goyal presented awards to industry leaders and hoped that they would continue their remarkable performance and high standards and set the bar higher in the future so that Bharat gets recognised all over the world.
Speaking at the Export Excellence Award ceremony on September 15, Anupriya Patel, Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, Government of India said “India has a wide array of spices. The focus of the industry professionals should be to grow this sector. In today’s world, the health benefits of spices are recognised largely, and we further need to amplify this by scientifically validating spices. The emphasis should be on bringing more innovative methods for global consumers. We need to make an inclusive world and foster sustainable growth. The global community needs to work collectively to face all the challenges.”
The 14th Congress on the theme ‘VISION 2030: Sustainability, Productivity, Innovation, Collaboration, Excellence, and Safety” (S.P.I.C.E.S)’ brought together diverse participants, including policymakers, regulatory bodies, spice trade organisations, government representatives, and technical specialists from different nations. The conference saw over 1,000 delegates from India and across the world. The exhibition had 157 exhibition stalls, with over hundreds of visitors from India and abroad.
The World Spice Congress (WSC), the conglomeration of the global spice industry, became the aptest platform to deliberate the concerns and considerations of the sector over its three decades-long presence, was organised under the leadership of the Spices Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India with support from various trade and export forums. The World Spice Congress provided an opportunity to get to know the sector in a better way. Trade, sustainability, quality and food safety initiatives, recent developments, concerns and future prospects were discussed and deliberated in detail by the key players of the industry- the producers, traders, processors, exporters and regulators from across the world.
Abhitash Singh