Building BusinessServices

Section 14

Spices (chilli, turmeric, cumin, pepper, cardamom)

India’s exports: 4,261.67 US$ million · 2025-26 (provisional)

HS codes
4
top markets
5

How to start

  1. Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT online; it is free and linked to your PAN.
  2. Register with the Spices Board and get your RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate) through the DGFT e-RCMC system.
  3. Begin with whole spices in bulk (cleaned, sorted, steam-sterilised if the buyer asks) before branded ground masala.
  4. Use the Spices Board quality evaluation labs or another NABL lab for pre-shipment tests.

Top buyer countries

  1. China361.66 US$ million · 2025-26
  2. United States160.02 US$ million · 2025-26
  3. Thailand121.29 US$ million · 2025-26
  4. Bangladesh95 US$ million · 2025-26
  5. Sri Lanka81.63 US$ million · 2025-26

Certificates and registrations

  • Certificate of Registration as Exporter of Spices (CRES) from the Spices Board — needed to export any spice
  • FSSAI licence for the processing unit
  • Lab reports for pesticide residue, aflatoxin and ethylene oxide where the buyer country asks

Watch out for

  • Ethylene oxide and pesticide residue findings have led to recalls of Indian spice brands abroad; buyers now test every lot.
  • Chilli and turmeric prices swing sharply with the crop; avoid long fixed-price contracts.

Businesses in the encyclopedia

Masala / Spice Grinding Unit →Cryogenic Spice Grinding →Black Pepper Cleaning & Grinding Unit →Red Chilli Powder Unit →Green Cardamom Powder →

Sources (3)
  1. TradeStat, Department of Commerce — Export: Principal Commodity-wise, April–March 2026 (provisional), US$ million — row "B1, SPICES"
  2. TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise all countries export, HS 0904, 2025-26, US$ million · 2025-26
  3. HBP Appendix 2T — List of EPCs / Commodity Boards (DGFT), via research/export-import.json · 2023