Urgent action needed to save India’s $700 mn spice trade

New Delhi: India needs to address the quality issue with regard to its spice exports with urgency and transparency as the ongoing quality concerns could threaten over half of the country's spice shipments, a report said on Wednesday.

Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that every day new countries are raising concerns about the quality of Indian spices. This issue demands urgent attention and action to uphold the storied reputation of India's fabled spice garden, it said.

"With nearly $700 million worth of exports to critical markets at stake, and potential losses soaring to over half of India's total spice exports due to cascading regulatory actions in many countries, the integrity and future of India's spice trade hang in delicate balance," the report said. It said India needs to address the quality issues with urgency and transparency.

"Swift investigations and the publication of findings are essential to re-establish global trust in Indian spices. Erring firms should face immediate repercussions," it added. Hong Kong and Singapore banned the sale of popular brands MDH and Everest after detecting carcinogenic chemical ethylene oxide in their products. This led to a mandatory recall from shelves. The primary violations in these incidents include the presence of ethylene oxide, a carcinogen used as a fumigating agent, and salmonella contamination, a common bacterial cause of foodborne illness, the report said.

"This situation could worsen if the European Union, which regularly rejects Indian spice consignments over quality issues, follows suit. An EU-wide rejection could impact an additional $2.5 billion, bringing the total potential loss to 58.8 per cent of India's worldwide spice exports," GTRI Co-Founder Ajit Srivastava said.