Chilli boosts spices exports

The country's spices and product exports increased by 25 per cent in the April-May period of 2007-08, buoyed by strong shipments of pepper and chilli.

The country exported 78,258 tonnes of spices worth Rs 656.56 crore in the first two months of the current financial year compared with 61,445 tonnes worth Rs 443.70 crore registered in the same period last year.

The exports touched a new peak of 373,750 tonnes valued at Rs 3,575.75 crore ($792.95 million) for the whole of 2006-07.

There was a sharp rise in pepper exports in May at 2,200 tonnes compared with 1,466 tonnes in the year-ago month, thanks to the lower domestic tags, which were $200 a tonne cheaper than those offered by Vietnam and other pepper-exporting countries. Realisation from pepper exports more than doubled to Rs 31.35 crore compared with Rs 11.67 crore last year.

Chilli too performed well on the export front, with 40,000 tonnes shipped in the first two months of 2007-08 compared with 15,234 tonnes sold in the same period last year.

However, this year's May figures dropped by 4,000 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes compared with the exports in April this year.

Chilli accounted for almost 45 per cent of the total export earnings at Rs 223.70 crore, which were Rs 64.84 crore in April-May 2006-07.

The country's chilli exports had hit an all-time high of 148,500 tonnes at Rs 807.75 crore in the whole of 2006-07.

The country suffered a heavy setback in garlic exports, shipping a mere 135 tonnes compared with 7,478 tonnes last year. Their value too declined to a paltry Rs 68.50 lakh from Rs 12.85 crore.

A steep rise in the domestic prices of the spice affected its exports, with the average rate climbing to Rs 50.74 a kg in May from Rs 17.19 a kg last May. In 2006-07, total garlic export exports were 11,500 tonnes (Rs 21.28 crore) compared with 34,688 tonnes (Rs 47.98 crore) in 2005-06.

The Spices Board has set a target of 10,000 tonnes of garlic exports worth Rs 25 crore for the whole of 2007-08. But, the current export trend indicates that the year may end with an export of a mere 25 per cent of the target.

Fenugreek and fennel saw a rise in exports, while those of cuminseed dropped sharply. Cuminseed exports dropped to 2,100 tonnes (Rs 20.50 crore) from 6,310 tonnes (Rs 40.25 crore) during the period under review.

Fenugreek exports increased to 3,750 tonnes (Rs 9.97 crore) from 1,417 tonnes (Rs 4.31 crore), while fennel exports rose to 1,600 tonnes (Rs 8.84 crore) as against 1,263 tonnes (Rs 7.03 crore), coriander exports climbed to 4,350 tonnes (Rs 15.57 crore), Ginger exports dropped by 208 tonnes to 1,800 tonnes (Rs 6.65 crore), curry powder and paste exports maintained the same level at 1,725 tonnes (Rs 15.62 crore), spice oils and oleoresins rose by 113 tonnes to 1,030 tonnes (Rs 83.40 crore).