After 5-fold jump in 4 years, jeera exports set to decline

KOCHI: After growing nearly five times in the past four years to a record 1.55 lakh tonne, jeera or cumin, export is set for a correction this year.

The slowdown seen in the first half of the fiscal, when shipments dropped nearly by half, is likely to continue for the rest of the year. In 2014-15, a third of the jeera produced were shipped, making it the second largest exported spice after chilli, fetching the spice industry over Rs 1,800 crore.

"Currency devaluation in buyers such as China and appreciation of the Indian rupee have hit exports. Even Syria, a jeera producer, which used to buy from India as its output is small, was not active because of the unrest," said Dipak Parikh, partner of Kanu Krishna Corporation, a major exporter.

The industry reckons that exports will drop to below 1 lakh tonne this fiscal unless China and Vietnam up purchases.