Johannesburg, July 26 (Inditop.com) The Spices Board of India may consider the possibility of pushing cultivation of Indian spices in South Africa through contract farming amid growing requests for seed exports by locals.
The board, which exhibited Indian spices at the July 19-21 South African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX), says it has found buyers but not enough distributors.
“They (distributors) are looking at getting quantities like 10 kilograms at a time, but we can only export container loads of not only spices but also other items like basmati rice,” said Spices Board deputy director M.R. Usha.
“Although there is great interest in Indian spices, we are not seeing enough distributors coming through,” Usha told Inditop.
According to her, there were also enquiries for seeds of the spices.
“They want to grow our products here because the soil is very fertile and also virgin,” Usha said, adding that paprika was a spice that could be grown in South Africa.
Maintaining that “a lot of formalities” and complications were involved in exporting seeds, she said: “I think if the soil is fertile here, some of our exporters may well come over here and do contract farming and supply back to India for this paprika which has a big demand.”
