Spices Board has launched its second e-auction centre at Bodinayakanur, known as Cardamom city, to ensure remunerative prices to farmers.
Spices Board Chairman A Jayathilak said that the new auction centre, constructed on two acres at the Board’s premises is equipped with all the modern facilities to assist the cardamom trade.
The Board, he said, has revolutionised the auction system for small cardamom by introducing electronic auction, which has started benefiting cardamom growers.
The first e-auction centre of the Board was set up at Puttady Spice Park, Kerala, in 2011.
The small cardamom production during 2015-16 was 22,000 tonnes registering the highest production in India.
The country exported 5,500 tonnes of small cardamom valued at ₹450 crore during 2015-16. Development and marketing interventions of the Board has led to the quantum increase in production and export of small cardamom, he pointed out.
The Board chairman hoped that recent initiatives such as the new e-auction centre; implementation of GAP (Good Agricultural Practices), judicious use of pesticides, application of bio-inputs and better grading would go a long way in assisting the cardamom industry and promoting consumption of the spice.