Spices will emerge as $18 billion industry by 2020, according to K Nirmal Babu, Director of the Kozhikode-based Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR).

Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day science special lecture series programme on ‘Recent trends in botanical sciences’, jointly organised by the Department of Applied Botany of Mangalore University and the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy in Mangaluru on Thursday, he said the estimated annual growth rate for spices demand in the world is around 3.19 per cent.

Of the $18 billion spices market by 2020, the share of India will be around $5 billion, he said.

(According to the annual report of Spices Board, the value of spices export stood at $2.48 billion during 2015-16.)

Stressing the need for conserving genetic diversity in spices, he said that IISR has conserved around 3,000 varieties.

He said that India is the centre of origin for black pepper and cardamom. Apart from this, the country is the major producer of ginger, turmeric, chillies and tree species of spices.

Highlighting the role of farmers in conserving and identifying different species of spices crops, he said 22 cardamom varieties are identified by farmers.

Stating that States such as Karnataka have been witnessing growth in the cultivation of black pepper, he said the growers are replacing the combination of coffee-cardamom cultivation with coffee-black pepper. That has led to the decline in the production of cardamom in Karnataka, he said.

Urging the students to give importance to botanical sciences, Babu said this field offers scope for them to become entrepreneurs.

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