Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Importance of individual spice requirements

• The importance of individual spice requirements differs from one importing country to another. However, in most world markets, pepper is almost invariably the principal or the most important world spice imported in terms of both its volume and value. The only exceptions are Finland, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (importers of small cardamom), and the Democratic Republic of Yemen (importers of ginger and chillies). Next in order of importance is the capsicum group, consisting of paprika (the leading item), chillies and cayenne pepper.
• Nutmeg, mace, cinnamon and cassia also feature prominently in the import of spices into the industrialized markets of Western Europe and North America. Pimento (Allspice) is the major item in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR.
• The other volume items of significance are ginger, turmeric and spice seeds e.g. coriander, juniper, anise, caraway and cumin. In terms of volume, world imports of spice seeds amount between 55,000 and 60,000 tonnes, annually, but in general, they are low-value items. On the other hand, vanilla, saffron and cardamom are high—unit value spices but their trading volume is low. Another high value item is clove, but this is a special case, as over 75-80% of world clove exports are imported into Indonesia for their `Kretek' cigarette industry.