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Cardamom - The third most expensive spice in the world
Aug 17, 2015

1.Cardamom

The name cardamom is used for herbs within two genera of the ginger family Elettaria (small cardamom) and Amomum (large cardamom).Large cardamom, Amomum subulatum, also known as Nepal cardamom, is a spice cultivated in the sub-Himalaya state of Sikkim and West Bengal in India besides Nepal,Indonesia,Bhutan and China, The capsules are typically 20 mm to 50 mm in size with black/brown coloration. Large cardamom is grown as a perennial cash crop under Himalayan alder or with mixed forest tree species.

Of the two, small cardamom is the more heavily produced globally, at a ratio of 3:2 as of 2006 .The antiquity of small cardamom ( Elettaria cardamomum Maton)), dates back to approximately 3000 BCE. A native to the Western Ghats of India ,this “Queen of Spices” belongs to the family (Zingiberaceae)and is the third most expensive spice in the world.

Cardamom prefers warm (10 to 35°C) and humid (with >1500 mm of well-distributed rainfall) mountain slopes at 600–1500 m elevation, under a canopy of evergreen trees or as in Guatemala in the open without shade and at higher altitudes where low temperatures are present. Cardamom is still grown inside forest reserves and conservation areas in Tanzania,eventhough this practice is illegal in that country. No chemicals or irrigation are used in cardamom cultivation, and improved planting material does not exist in Tanzania. There are no producer associations and no quality control mechanisms .Though cardamom has been a forest crop in SriLanka,as it affected the forest structure and soil properties ,its cultivation is either banned or restricted in high conservation value forests such as Knuckles Forest.Kandy district of SriLanka is the major cardamom tract in Sri Lanka.

2.Transnational spread of small cardamom

It is believed that small cardamom is introduced to Sri Lanka from India during the beginning of the 19th century and from there or India itself to Guatemala by 1920s with the help of a New York broker. Thus small cardamom has a history of hardly 200 years of domestication in Sri Lanka and about 85 years of domestication history in Guatemala. German settlers introduced cardamom to the Usambara Mountain area of Tanzania in the 1890s though large scale cultivation started only in1954, with the distribution of a nucleus source of 10 seedlings to farmers by the Amani Botanical Garden in the Usambaras.

3.Producing countries and production

Though India once had a virtual monopoly on small cardamom production and export, at present the largest producers of small cardamom are Guatemala and India while the smaller producers include Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Lao PDR and Vietnam. Guatemala produces around 23000MT cardamom annually while Indian production is now pegged around 11500MT.Tanzania produces on an average 600MT per year. At present the area under cultivation in Sri Lanka is approximately 5400 hectares with about 700 MT production. The crop is now getting popular in virgin forest lands of Papua New Guinea and is restricted to private estate owners. Productivity is highest in Guatemala(about 350kg per ha.)followed by India(150kg per ha.).

With respect to large cardamom production,India(4000 MT),Nepal (2500 MT)and Bhutan(1000MT)are the leading players .Indonesia,Thailand,Cambodia,China,Lao PDR,Vietnam etc also account for some of the production. Since 2003 Indonesia is also emerging as a major producer.

4.Pricing and price fluctuation

Price fluctuations are common, and prices can suddenly drop in all the producing countries as well as in the international market. The major reasons for the fluctuating prices are crop situation in the major producing countries, domestic as well as global demand, seasonal festivals as well as carry over stocks. Though cardamom is a major Forex earner for India, it is not a free traded commodity in the country. As per the cardamom (Licensing & Marketing) Rules, 1987, all the producers of cardamom should sell their produce only through a licensed auctioneer/dealer and the auction system came into existence since then. Spices Board ,a major commodity board under the Ministry of Commerce of the country controls and regulates cardamom auction in India. During the last few years Indian cardamom price fluctuated between Rs.700-1500 in the domestic market(US$1= Rs.53,September,2012).The average price for Tanzanian cardamom was US$2.9 (US$ 1=TZS 876.4, November 2001) per kg, varying from US$ 2.3/kg (with poor access to markets)

5.Grades and Export

Indian small cardamom is offered to the world market in different grades such as AGEB(Alleppey Green Extra Bold),AGB(Alleppey Green Bold) and AGS(Alleppey Green Superior),AGS1(Alleppey Green Shipment),AGL(Alleppey Green Light),CGEB(Coorg Green Extra Bold),CGB(Coorg Green Bold),CG1(Coorg Green Superior)CG2(Coorg Green Mota),CG3(Coorg Green Shipment),CGL(Coorg Green Light),BL1,BL2 and BL3(Bleached cardamom).

Common Guatemala grades are Jumbo Green ( extra-large green capsules), Imperial Best Green are( large green capsules),Fancy Green Extra (extra green capsule), Fancy Green (medium sized green capsule),Imperial Mixed Green ( large pale green capsule) and Mixed Green (capsules of assorted colors). Mixed Green Split (medium sized open green capsules), Yellow Mixed ( medium/large closed yellow capsules)and MYQ or Mixed Yellow Quality ( medium sized light-brown cardamom for grinding).

The Indian large cardamom grades are Badadana,Chottadana, Kanchicut and non-kanchicut).

While India consumes about 90% of the produce,Guatemala and Tanzania export the entire production. The average exports of cardamom per year stand at around 23000 tons. Saudi Arabia claims to be the single largest importer of the commodity. During 2010 ,Saudi Arabia imported about 9600MT cardamom worth US$150000 followed by European Union(1,593MT: $27,741). Other major importer countries are Kuwait,United Arab Emirates,China,Japan,Hong Kong,Netherlands,Singapore and USA.India is also an importer of cardamom,though over the years there is declining trend,from 875 tonnes in 2007-08 to 95 tonnes in 2009-10.

Pakistan is the major importer of large cardamom amounting to 900 MT per year in addition to UAE,Iran ,Afghanistan,UK,Malyasia,Japan ,South Africa etc.

6.Quality of cardamom from the major producing countries

Comparative quality evaluation study of export grade small cardamoms from India,Guatemala and Sri Lanka (Fig.1,Tables1and 2)confirmed the superior quality of the Indian commodity thereby attesting the age old reputation of high intrinsic quality of the Indian cardamom.

Fig.1.Export grade cardamoms from India,Guatemala and Sri Lanka

Source:Thomas,E.(2009).Biochemical and molecular characterization of traded spices to augment trade through geographical Indication.Ph.D Thesis, Mangalore University,Mangalore.

Thomas,E.(2009).Biochemical and molecular characterization of traded spices to augment trade through geographical Indication.Ph.D Thesis, Mangalore University,Mangalore

7.Conclusion

Cardamoms are grown either as a forest crop or as a component of the agroforestry system in the major producing countries or even as wild growth. Though India was once a major producer of small cardamom, at present Guatemala is the leading small cardamom producer ,though the crop is having less than 100 years of cultivation history in that country. However, thanks to the rich genetic diversity, scientific production and processing practices as well as well informed planters and better institutional support ,Indian cardamom is number one in quality .Price fluctuation is a common feature of the commodity in all the producing countries and in the international market. On the whole, the cardamom import market has not fully recovered from the 2008 global financial crisis. However,global imports have in fact been increasing since 2008, albeit at a relatively slow rate. Another worrying concern common to all of the major cardamom cultivating countries is the degradation of the conserved forest lands and cardamom ecosystems

Of late,large cardamom productivity in Nepal is reportedly decreasing rapidly due to the various climate induced factors . And currently India is the leading producer of the commodity. Indonesia is another emerging player of the commodity.

Global economy and climatic conditions would be the two most important factors determining the future of cardamom.

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