Indian spices to pep up the hot curries are a sure winner here with Malaysia emerging as the second largest importer, after the United States, with its imports worth $79 millions last year.
Imports by Malaysia had been on a gradual uptrend since 2004-2005 when it was only at 40,355.13 metric tonnes shooting up to 62,402.36 metric tonnes during 2007-2008.
"We have been able to break into new markets and that has helped to increase exports. The quality of our spices is very good and we control about 44 of the world trade.
"Malaysia has been our second largest importer, buying a lot of our chillies at 51,782.4 metric tonnes, which are then processed and re-exported," the Kerala-based Spices Board Chairman V J Kurien told Bernama newsagency.
Some of Malaysia's other main spice imports are, coriander (5,072.4 metric tonnes), small cardamom (331 metric tonnes), turmeric (2,895.4 metric tonnes) and cumin (1,214 metric tonnes).
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom were the other big importers of Indian spices.
India's spice exports reached a record high in FY09, with a value of $1.102 billion — a 19 per cent jump compared to the previous period.