Growth performance of indian spices: State-wise analysis

India is rightly called as the “Spice Hub of the World”. Its exports touched 15.65 lakh tonnes (valued at 3.50 billion US dollars) during 2020–21. This necessitates the importance of processed and value added spices in the country as well as in the international market for doubling farmers income. The present study has examined the growth and instability of major Indian Spices during 1995–96 to 201617. CAGR and CDI were employed to determine the growth rate and instability, respectively. The study found that post-NHM period recorded highest growth rate in production coupled with lowest instability over pre-NHM period in case of chilli, cumin and coriander. Most of the spices registered instability in area on account of unfavourable weather conditions and price volatility in domestic and international markets. Lagged production and domestic consumption were registered as the major determinants of Indian spices exports by applying multiple regression analysis. India has enjoyed comparative advantage in turmeric exports in the world market and in chilli exports in the Asian market during the study periods, which were reflected in the values of RCA and CEP indices. However, India has been facing challenges from major exporting countries in pepper, cumin and coriander exports in the world market. Some of the major exporting countries increased the spices cultivation in order to reap the benefits and now the competition in spice trade has become fierce. Policies should be framed in such a way so as to raise the productivity in both dry land areas and rain fed areas as well for protecting the spice sector against changes in the climate. Government has to make plans towards setting up of efficient markets and has to fix a guaranteed and competitive price in advance for spices so as to increase the income of the farmers and sustainability of the resources through diversification.