Spices are non-leafy parts (e.g. bud, fruit, seed, bark, rhizome, and bulb) of plants used as a flavoring or seasoning, although many also can be used as a herbal medicine. A closely related term, ‘herb’, is used to differentiate plant parts finding an equivalent uses but derived from leafy or soft flowering parts. The two terms could also be used for an equivalent plants during which the fresh leaves are used as herbs, while other dried parts are used as spices, e.g. coriander, dill.
There are an outsized number of various spices, used alongside food like pepper, chill, cardamom, cinnamon, mustard, cloves, ginger, turmeric, coriander etc. These spices give taste to the prepared food and at a similar time give attractive colours and smell to the food. Therefore the usage of some or all of those spices during cooking is now became an unavoidable one. The number of a specific spice added to the food during cooking is depends upon the taste of the user. For better and proper taste, the addition of those spices should be controlled. For that there's certain composition of spices for every type of dishes. For e.g. if we are getting to make the north Indian dish paneer butter masala. There’s a specific composition of the spices and at a similar time the composition of the spices added to sambar a south Indian dish is entirely different, although the contents are same.
India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products in the world and produces more than 50 spices. India is also a big exporter of Chilli, turmeric, cumin, pepper and many other spices. The country also imports various spices to meet its local requirement of taste as Indian dishes are incomplete without adding varieties of spices to them. Andhra Pradesh is the largest spice producing state in India. Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Assam, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the other major spices producing states in India. Chilli is the major spice crop occupying about 29 percent of area under cultivation and contributing about 34 percent of total spices production in the country. Turmeric accounts for 14% of production and 6% of area, while garlic accounts for 19% of production and 5% of area. Seed spices contribute 17% of production and occupy 41% of area while pepper contributes 2% of production and occupies 9% of area of the total spices in the country.
Total spices export from India stood at 226,225 tonnes valued at US$ 621.78 in April-June 2016, registering a year-on-year growth of 3 per cent. Major importers of Indian spices in FY 2015-16 were US, China, Vietnam, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, UK, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and Germany.
Worldwide, food trends are changing with a marked health orientation. Since organic foods are free from chemical contaminants, the demand for these products should steadily increase in the new millennium. Organic cultivation is nothing new to India.
Government of India has announced a few schemes under which 100 per cent export-oriented units can be set up any, where in India. The subject of the scheme is to promote to export of manufacture goods. Under this scheme special concession and facilities are provided to entrepreneurs desirous of setting up 100 percent export units. As a whole any entrepreneur can venture in this project without risk and earn profit.
Few Indian major players are as under
Indian Products Pvt. Ltd.
Indian Chillies Trdg. Co. Ltd.
Gokul Agro Inds. Ltd.
General Commodities Pvt. Ltd.
Empire Spices & Foods Ltd.
Eastern Condiments Pvt. Ltd.
Cookme B B D Pvt. Ltd.
Bhavani Tea & Produce Co. Ltd.
Paras Spices Pvt. Ltd.
Periyar Plantations Pvt. Ltd.
Shubham Goldiee Masale Pvt. Ltd.
