Cardamom

Cardamom is a reputed fruit that grows on the cardamom plant and is used as an exquisite flavored spice all around the globe. It is considered as the “Queen of spices”, it being a highly prized spice as well. The cardamom plant is a long living tropical herb plant belonging to the ginger family Zingiberaceae and grows from a thick rootstalk up till around 6 to 10 feet. The fragrance of cardamom is also well recognized everywhere and it is used as a mouth freshener.

            Cardamom plant has dark green long leaves and also a long flowering stalk and bear fruits that are pale green or yellowish in color, elongated in shape. These ripen fruits are the ones which are used as spice and flavoring.

          Cardamom’s reputation as a spice is unmatchable as it is one of the highly priced and most expensive spices after vanilla and saffron and often termed as “Queen of spices” as mentioned above. It is considered as a versatile spice as it is used in both sweet and salty foods. Oil from the seeds of cardamom and also the left over resin have their usage in processed foods, tonics, liquors and perfumes. This fruit also has a great significance in the Ayurvedic medicines as it has got healing effects also as in teeth and gum infections, digestive disorders etc.

Indian cardamom market

            India holds the credit of being the country that, for the very first time, discovered cardamom and made it famous in the world. The country has been a key player in each an every context related to cardamom whether it is production, consumption or deciding prices. The country’s earliest medical references found out the healing properties in cardamom and also found out its uses in medicines and other preparations. Cardamom has also been related to spirituality of the people in the country as this was the spice that was offered in the ceremonies and rituals held in the ancient India.

           India has been producing this reputed spice since a long time and was the leading producer till 2002. It still is the second largest producer of cardamom after Guatemala and its production hovers around 11500 metric tons. Kerala is the largest producer of cardamom in the country producing around 8000 tons of the spice. The production has decreased as compared to the previous times when it touched around 12000 tons in 2002-03. The country has the maximum area covered in the cultivation of cardamom as compared to any country in the world. India stands at the 2nd place in the world consumption list also as it consume almost 90% of the domestic consumption. The maximum demand comes from the western part of the country at around 45% followed by the northern part constituting about 35%.