spice a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetable substances primarily used for flavouring, colouring or preserving food. Sometimes a spice is used to hide other flavours. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts of leafy green plants also used for flavouring or as garnish. Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer climates, which have more infectious disease, and why use of spices is especially prominent in meat, which is particularly susceptible to spoiling.
A spice may have other uses, including medicinal, cosmetics or perfume production, or as a vegetable. For example, turmeric roots are consumed as a vegetable and garlic as an antibiotic. India primarily exports pepper, chilli, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, celery, nutmeg and mace, garlic, tamarind and vanilla. Processed spices such as spice oils and oleoresins, mint products, curry powder, spice powders blends and seasonings and also exported. The export of processed spices such as curry powder, mint products and spice oils and oleoresins accounted for 44.2 per cent of total exports. Mint products accounted for a large volume of spice exports in 2012-13 with a share of 29.7 per cent. Mint product exports grew from US $ 235.4 million in 2008-09 to US $ 415.3 million in 2012-13. Spice oils and oleoresins exports grew from US $ 156.9 million in 2008-09 to US $ 241.1 million in 2012-13. Indian spices exports have been able to record strident gains in both volume and value in Rupee terms.
It is first time in the history of Spices export the growth in volume registered an all-time growth of 26 per cent. Spices exports have registered substantial growth during the last five years, registering compound annual average growth rate of 23 per cent in value and 11 per cent in volume and India commands a formidable position in the World Spice Trade.
The tariffs for import have also been steadily brought down. Under Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka, duty free import of spices is permitted. Duty free imports are also allowed under the Advance Authorization Scheme for value addition and re-export. The US is the major importer followed by China, the UAE, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Exports to the US grew at a rate of 11.6 per cent from US $ 215.4 million in 2007-08 to US $ 334.8 million in 2011-12. (Source: India brand equity foundation 2013).
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