NAVI MUMBAI:
The World Spice Congress, the 3 day B2B mega event in the spices sector, concluded today at CIDCO covention & Exhibition Centre, Navi Mumbai today.
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India and Anupriya Patel, Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, Government of India, graced the 14th WSC on 16th and 15th of September 2023, respectively.
Speaking at the Export Excellence Award ceremony on 15th Septembar 2023, during the 14th World Spice Congress, Anupriya Patel, Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said that the congress occurred during the historic period of India’s G20 presidency and spoke about making India a developed nation in the next 25 years.
“We need to make development till the last mile. India has a wide array of spices. The focus of the industry professionals should be to grow this sector. In today’s world, the health benefits of spices are recognized largely, and we further need to amplify this by scientifically validating spices. The emphasis should be on bringing more innovative methods for global consumers. We need to make an inclusive world and foster sustainable growth. The global community needs to work collectively to face all the challenges,” she added.
Goyal congratulated the award winners and hoped that they will continue their remarkable performance, high standards and set the bar higher in the future so that Bharat gets recognized all over the world.
The event’s last day, i.e. 17th September, 2023 commenced with a business session on Global Spice Markets: Trends & Opportunities, about which International Spice Trade Associations gave the presentation. Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary, Gol & Chairman, Spices Board, chaired the session and Ashwin Nayak, Chairman FISS, Ahmedabad, was the session’s co-chair.
The speakers, Laura Shumow, Executive Director, American Spice Trade Association; Hoang Thi Lien, Chairperson, Vietnam Pepper & Spice Association; Inaba Tomonori, All Nippon Spice Association; Van Vannal, Executive Director, Cambodia Pepper & Spice Federation, B. Sarada M De Silva, Former Chairman of the Spice Council of Sri Lanka, expressed their thoughts on the global opportunities in spices sector and in their respective countries.
The event was followed by another business session on Crop and Market Reports, during which crop and market situation in India and in major production as well as marketing centres were shared by eexperts in the industry. These reports are useful for farmers, traders, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry. This discussion was chaired by D Sathiyan, Secretary, Spices Board and Chairman, WSC, and co-chaired by Kirandeep Singh Swani, Member ISFEA.
This session covered various spices like Cardamom, Chilies, Ginger and turmeric, Seed Spices, Mint and Herbs, Nutmeg and Mace, Cloves, and Pepper. The speakers in this session included, Hemen Mulraj Ruparel, CEO, Samex Agency, Mumbai; Shiraz. H, AVP, Procurement & Agri projects, AVT McCormick Ingredients Ltd., Kochi; Bharat Maskai, Managing Partner, Laxmi Enterprises, Mumbai; Maheswaran, M/s P C Kannan & Co.; Shailesh Shah, M/s Jabs International; Rajendra P. Ghogale, MD, M/s Callisons, Pune; Anand Kishor, Proprietor, Kuruwa Enterprises; Kochi, Suvan Sharma, CEO, M/s. Jain Fresh Farm Foods Limited; Gopal Ahuja, Director, Navi Mumbai Merchants Association & Former President World Cloves Council; etc.
The event concluded with the Plenary Session of WSC 2023 chaired D Sathiyan, Secretary, Spice Board. A vote of thanks was presented by B N Jha, Director (Marketing), Spices Board and organizing secretary, WSC 2023.
Post the business sessions and the conference, an industry visit to two of the prominent spice processing units, i.e, M/s Laxmi Industries, Navi Mumbai and M/s Swani Spice Mills Pvt. Ltd in Mumbai, was arranged.
The conference cum exhibition had more than 150 exhibition stalls, with over 1300 visitors including delegates from India and abroad.,
