The 14th World Spice Congress commences in Navi Mumbai
The mega spice event, that is the 14th World Spice Congress commenced in Navi Mumbai. Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary, Dept. of Commerce, Government of India, during his inaugural address for the 14th edition of the World Spice Congress, stated that India’s spice export, which is currently $4 billion, is expected to reach $10 billion by 2030.
“India is a leading player in the global spice industry. Traditionally India has been the spices centre of the world. In order to ensure that India continues to maintain its traditional strength there are several things to work on in the entire chain of production from growers to marketers,” he added. “It is a shared responsibility of the Government and the Spices Board to come up with schemes and programmes to facilitate testing labs, assessment quality standards, etc. This three-day event will give lots of business opportunities to all the stakeholders, delegates, exhibitors and producers,” he said.
Highlighting the potential of the Indian spices industry, D Sathiyan, Secretary, of the Spices Board, said, “The spices legacy is part of human culture. India is the spice bowl of the world. There is tremendous potential to explore product development, biotech, etc. in India. More than 75 spices are grown in India; each state offers spices. The future of the world spice industry will be discussed at the three-day World Spice Congress.”
The first day of the event commenced with the inauguration of the exhibition highlighting the variety of spices and value-added spice products as well as innovative technologies and solutions in the spices industry and a visual presentation on the Indian Spice Sector by D Sathiyan, Secretary, Spices Board.