Introduction: Export Spices

India produces the most spices; additionally, from a historical standpoint, India's dealings in spices are the largest in the entire world, as India has been one of the major exporters of specialty spices to foreign countries, and demand has been steadily increasing over the last decade. Being one of the most important parts of human life, as is one of the most important materials for food for human consumption, spices require major licenses from the central and state governments.

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The Spices Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, is the regulatory body for the export of spices, development, and promotion of spices from India.

There are different types of Indian entities involved in the export procedure through the manufacturing of spices, wholesale trade of species, merchants involved in the business of spices, producers of spices, exporters of spices, etc. Even if you are looking for information on the export business of spices, this blog will be of great benefit to you. Let's look at the export procedure for spices in more detail.

What Are The Major Spices Being Produced In India

Being one of the largest producers of spices, India produces the majority of the herbs and spices, a few of which are:

• Clove
• Dark Pepper
• Celery
• Vanilla
• Ginger
• Saffron
• Turmeric 
• Cardamom
• Garlic
• Mace
• Chilies
• Nutmeg
• Coriander
• Cassia
• Cumin
• Fennel
• Fenugreek

Few Top Spice Exporting Nations are

• India
• Indonesia
• China
• Turkey
• Malaysia
• Brazil
• Mexico, etc

The India’s Export Business Of Spices

As the world's largest spice exporter, India's spice exports in the fiscal year 2020-21 were valued at US$ 4.18 billion, an increase of nearly 34% over the previous year. 

Licenses Required For The Export Of Spices From India 

As we have seen the large scope in the Export business of Indian Export, let’s look at how we can proceed for the export business of Spices:

• Quality Standard Certification

The quality of the goods that are being exported must be authorized as per the quality of the goods. There are various licensing authorities. Let's discuss the same.

• ISO 22000 Certification

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, a non-profit organization, for the purpose of exporting spices. ISO 22000 ensures that the spices are of high quality and reliable as compared to non-certified products. For more information, click on the link.

• IEC License

An IEC license is issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, in order to conduct the business of export and import of goods and spices. The import-export code is necessary, but there are certain exceptions to it. The import-export code is required for trade, merchant, and export businesses. The Directorate General of foreign trade (DGFT) is the governing body and regulatory body for the import and export of goods in or from India. The IEC must be linked with the DGFT portal for the benefit of the services offered by the DGFT and for ease of making valid trading processes. Destroying the trading processes any company involved in the export business, whether it is a limited liability Company, partnership firm, proprietorship firm, HUF, trust, society, or even a non-registered business, can take Import import-export license.

• APEDA Licensing

The National Program for Organic Production (NPOP), which runs under the agricultural and processed food products export development authority (APEDA), provides organic food certification and formulates a set of rules for organic food products. The standard operating procedure of the APEDA assures that the land farms are based on organic farming. The inputs used on the land for the production of the spices must be natural, and no chemical means of production are permitted. The organic labeling that is given for foods differs according to the organic grade of spice and the quality of products being used for the production of spices. Once the certification is provided, it remains valid for a period of three years. However, a license could be rejected if the product is found to be in violation of the NPOP.

• FSSAI Registration

The exporter requires the FSSAI registration, which is governed by the FSSAI Act, 2006, which provides details of the information required for the traders, merchants, and exporters for the export of spices from India. Businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 12 lahks must obtain a regional FSSAI license; businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs. 12 lakh must obtain a valid FSSAI state license, and businesses with an annual turnover of more than Rs. 20 crores must obtain a valid FSSAI central license. The licensing period is provided for five years from the date of authorization; however, the license should be renewed before the expiry of the term. The benefits of the FSSAI license include the worldwide acceptability of the product being exported outside India,. Several countries across the world measure the quality of the spices on the basis of the FSSAI license, which qualifies the product as a quality product for human consumption. At the time of filling out the FSSAI application, the applicant has to confirm whether the product for which an FSSAI license is required will be for domestic sale, or for export purposes. The FSSAI export license is different from the FSSAI domestic license. There are various government schemes for the promotion of spice exports from India, such as the Participatory Guarantee System of India (PGS India), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and the NPOP program, an initiative for organic food production that runs under the APEDA, Department of Commerce, that is governed by the food safety standard regulations.

• Importation Permit And Licenses

The exporter requires obtaining the import permit and necessary authorization from the country where the products need to be imported. The product authorization varies from product to product. However, there are several countries that have trade agreements with India and accept the goods and services based on the license provided by India.

Documents Required For The Export Of Spices From India

The manufacturer, producer, and exporter who are operating their export business of organic products from India must show their products' legitimacy for export outside of India. There are a good number of documents required for the export of Spices from India, which are

• The Incorporation certificate of the exporting company.
• Ownership certificate of the company premises 
• Consular documents such as Certificate of Origin, bill of lading, commercial invoice, shipment documents, certificates, etc
• Bill of exchange
• Letter of credit
• GMP certificate of the spices 
• IEC number of the spices being exported
• HS code of the spices 
• Destination control certificate
• Export license 
• Electronic export information (EEI)

Conclusion

India is one of the top spice producers and exporters and is known for the taste, texture, and aroma of the spices being produced in the nation, as well as the fact that the climatic conditions of India favor the export of spices and high agricultural land, makes India one of the most important exporting nations to the majority of the countries throughout the world. As per the ISO, out of 109 varieties of spices, almost 75 varieties are exported from India. The competition in the market for spice production has increased the value; however, there has been seen in a decrease in the quality of spices being produced in the nation due to poor quality checks, poor harvesting, and a lack of advanced technology for raising and production of spices. The governing body, the Spice Board of India, which was established in 1987 and has its main headquarters in Cochin, advanced the production and export, and import procedures.

If you require any additional information about the export and competitiveness of the spice industry, please contact our expert team.