Move follows stricter norms put in place by importers such as Saudi Arabia on quality and food safety. Recently Qatar rejected 1,500 kg of cardamom from Kerala citing pesticide presence.
Move follows stricter norms put in place by importers such as Saudi Arabia on quality and food safety. Recently Qatar rejected 1,500 kg of cardamom from Kerala citing pesticide presence.
In a first, the Spices Board of India will conduct a special e-auction for pesticide-free cardamom. According to officials, the first such auction will be held at the spices parks at Puttady and Bodinayakanur on Saturday. The pesticide-free cardamom is meant for export. Recently, Qatar had rejected 1,500 kg of cardamom from Kerala citing pesticide presence.
Spices Board Assistant Director Anil Kumar K.A. said that two auction agencies had pooled lab-tested green cardamom for the special auction. “Mas Enterprises Limited pooled 59 lots (17,096 kg) and South Indian Green Cardamom Company Limited pooled 14 lots (3,156 kg). The lab test was cleared by 15,257 kg of Mas Enterprises and 2,296 kg of South Indian Green Cardamom Company,” he said.
Rigorous testing
“Before being produced at the auction, the cardamom should complete six pesticide tests and artificial colour tests. Only lab-tested cardamon will be produced for the special auction. Every 125 grams of a lot should be submitted for lab test. The lab test fee for each lot is fixed at ₹4,130. Since the Spices Board will bear one-third of the fee, the producer pays ₹2,753 per lot. If the sample fails the lab test the producer should pay the full test fee,” he added.
Dried Cardamom stored in shop at Kumily.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The quality and price of cardamom are decided by its color, shape, and size. “The new safe-to-eat certified cardamom is labelled mainly for its pesticide-free quality. The special variety of cardamom is verified through the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system. We hope the new product will fetch us more orders and better price from foreign countries,” Mr. Anil Kumar said.
Once a month
Officials said the special auction would be conducted once a month. Initially, the special auction will be conducted on the last Saturday of every month.
According to Spices Board officials, many importers, including Saudi Arabia, the single largest cardamom-consuming country, have started imposing strict quality and food safety norms to be met by the exporters of cardamom, including maximum residue limit (MRL) for certain chemical residues.
Export dips
”Recently, Qatar rejected 1,500 kg of cardamom from Kerala because of the presence of pesticides. For the past several months, export of cardamom has dipped and it reflected in the price of the crop in the open market,” said a source.
The price of cardamom has reached a new low in the local market, trading at ₹800 to ₹900 a kg. The highest-ever price of cardamom was recorded on August 3, 2019, at ₹7,000 a kg at the auction held at Puttady.
