Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Origin and distribution

• Cumin is a native of Egypt, Syria, Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean region. It is an important cash crop of India, Argentina, Cyprus, Denmark, Mexico, USSR, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Morocco, Turkey, China, Southern Russia, Indonesia and Japan. Iran is the major world exporter of the cumin seed known as 'green cumin'.
• In India, it is cultivated on a commercial scale in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and to some extent in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat is the leading cumin seed producing state in India accounting for about 52% of the production. The area under cumin in India was about 2,96,990 hectares and production about 1,38,220 tonnes during 2001-02.
• There are several types of cumin well-known in the international trade. These are Iranian cumin, Indian cumin, Egyptian cumin, Turkish cumin and cumin from other regions.