The rapidly expanding middle classes of India and China are causing producers world wide to scramble to cultivate more spices and medicinial oils while consumers in Europe and North America are willing pay high premiums for products of superior quality.

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One of the fundamental choices that each spice farmer must consider is the decision to farm with traditional methods or organic methods.  According to an FAO report, organic spices fetch premiums of 10-30 percent.  However, farmers are sometimes reluctant to switch to organic farming methods due to lower crop yields initially.  Organic farming requires multi-year farmer commitment.  The benefits of these farming methods usually take a couple years to payoff.  Thus, these methods are typically unattractive to farmers that rent their land year to year.  However, farmers who own their land can in many cases benefit from adopting organic farming practices.

Another important choice that spice farmers must consider is how to process their spices to ensure the elimination of micro-organisms.  Traditionally, such methods as steam sterilization and fumigations have been used to rid spice products of these micro pests.  However, these methods can have an adverse effect on the freshness, color and taste of the product.  Because of this, new methods such as irradiation are becoming popular.  In some countries there are still issues with customer acceptance of irradiated products.  However, irradiation of spices on a commercial scale is now practiced in over 20 countries according to the FAO . Irradiation offers the benefits of cleansing products of micro-organisms without harming the freshness, color or taste of the product.

India is the world’s largest consumer and producer of spices. According to the FAO , approximately 45 percent of all spices sold in the world come from India.  This gives India a prominent place in establishing how developing countries interact with more developed ones in the spice trade.  Increasingly the Indian spice industry is taking advanced steps to insure the quality of its products for export.  These steps include the establishment of certified quality management systems.  Additionally, some larger spice companies are setting up testing laboratories to ensure the absence of pesticide residues. The message is clear, if spice farmers in developing countries want to sell their product to more developed nations, they must produce a quality product.