NEW DELHI, April 4 (Bernama) -- India, the world''s leading spice producer,
exporter and consumer, is all set to become a hub of global spice trade with the
launch of an international body that would coordinate it, reports Press Trust of
India (PTI).
"The process is on to open the head-office of World Spice Organisation (WSO)
at Kochi. It has been registered and will be formally launched within three
months," Founding Chairman WSO Philip Kuruvilla told PTI. Kochi in Kerala is the
hub for spice trading in India.
The WSO will not only seek better solutions for sustainability of spice
production, but would also address the issue of food safety regulations. It
seeks to provide a global platform from the farm to the end user, Kuruvilla
said.
"Several spice related organisations have pledged their support and have
welcomed the initiative," Kuruvilla said, without revealing their names.
A global body that can connect all the spice producing and exporting
countries for timely exchange of information from production to exports to
regulation is needed, he added.
"WSO will focus on sustainability of spice production vis-a-vis rising
global demand and harmonisation of all the global regulatory policies on
spices," All India Spice Exporters Forum (AISEF) Chairman Jeemon Korah told PTI.
Although the production of spices is increasing on a year-on-year basis, yet
it is still insufficient to match the uptrend in demands, he said, adding that
issues of demand and supply will be one of the core areas for WSO.
"Another major role that this organisation will look at is to create
awareness among the producing and exporting countries regarding food safety
policies, demand-supply situation and value addition," Kuruvilla said.
Explaining the issue of food safety regulations, he said various consuming
countries in Europe and America are bringing in food safety norms, which make
things difficult for producing countries to meet.
"When a country brings a regulation regarding food safety and standard of
spices, the information takes a lot of time to reach the producing countries,
which leaves little time for the producer to adjust according to the guidelines
and this results in huge losses," he explained.
Spice Board, the government body for the development and promotion of Indian
spices has welcomed the creation of WSO.
"Spice Board welcomes such an initiative and will extend all possible help
for the setting up of such an organisation," Spice Board Chairman V J Kurian
told PTI.
A common platform globally needs to be created to address policies and
legislations related to spices, he added.
"Various proposals have been discussed regarding the creation of this
organisation," Kurian said.
-- BERNAMA
FR
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