KOCHI: Spices Board chairman A Jayathilak has urged farmers and exporters to obtain geographical indication (GI) labels for their quality spices. He said on Monday that geographical indication is one of the tools to promote products in the global market.
Speaking at Spices Board’s Buyer-Seller Meet (BSM) conducted on the sidelines of the five-day Global Kokan Festival 2018 at CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Centre, Vashi, Navi Mumbai on Sunday, Jayathilak urged exporters to export commodities specifying the GI.
“The only commodity in which India has 50 per cent of the world trade is spices,” he was quoted as saying.
Maharashtra has got 14 GIs registered while the Konkan region’s Konkan Sugandha nutmeg and Konkan Tej cinnamon hold the potential for GI registration.
An estimated potential business transaction of 600 tonnes of spices valued at Rs 7 crore was carried out at the BSM.
Around 50 exporters and 160 farmers took part in the meet and the first transaction between the farmers and the exporters was held in the presence of Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu during the inauguration of the conference.