Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash launched the country’s first virtual platform for spice exports Spice Xchange India at a hybrid event held in Kochi on Thursday.“Spices have contributed greatly to India’s export basket despite the pandemic and the country presently enjoys a dominant share in the global spice market by exporting 225 different spices and spice products to more than 180 countries,” Mr. Som Parkash said. Export development and promotion, value addition, and quality improvement continued to be thrust areas for the government, he added.Launched by the Spices Board, spicexchangeindia.com is a 3D virtual platform aimed at connecting India’s spice exporters with buyers from around the world. The portal uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology to connect spice buyers with exporters in India. The buyers and sellers can access the database to find the potential customers. The portal works as an extended office enabling the subscribers to conduct virtual meetings.
‘Forced by pandemic’
D. Sathiyan, secretary of the Spices Board, said the pandemic had forced the board to conceptualize and create the portal, which would be relevant even after the pandemic period as it easily connected exporters and importers. Diwakar Nath Misra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said the initiative would boost spice export from India.
