Centre plans spice park in Haveri

The Union government will sanction Rs 10 crore for setting up a Spice Park in Haveri district. Disclosing this in Haveri, Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh said the Spice Board would set up Karnataka's first spice park spread over 100 acres in Haveri district.

Speaking after inaugurating the country's first government-owned chilli processing unit at Chatra Road, he said spice parks were functioning successfully in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttara Pradesh.

Ramesh said the Byadgi chilli products will be protected as geographical indicators (GI) on the lines of Darjeeling tea and Mysore Silk products. The brand name for Byadgi chilli with a separate logo will help farmers get a good price for their produce, he said.

The minister informed that India exports chilli worth Rs 1,000 crore every year and the Centre plans to start industries to produce chilli flakes, powder, paste and oleoresin of international standards.

Byadgi red chilli is not as hot and pungent as Guntur chilli and the Spice Board will help farmers increase its productivity. Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra top the list in chilli production in India. Efforts will be made to motivate farmers in Karnataka also, Jairam Ramesh asserted.

He said a chilli pod testing laboratory will be commissioned at Byadgi in another six months and Rs 1.5 crore will be sanctioned for the purpose. The regional office of the Spice Board at Hubli will be upgraded as the zonal office within a year, he added.