Growth Performance and Instability in Indian Cardamom Exports: A Time Series Analysis

Abstract

Cardamom, the world’s third most expensive spice, is a perennial herb known for its distinctive flavour and aroma. The seeds of Cardamom have a warm, slightly pungent taste and have culinary use in day-to-day life. The rich flavour and aroma of Indian cardamom occupy a special position in the global spice market. Over the years area under cardamom cultivation in India has remained static, and the production and export quantities show an increasing trend, but the export value of cardamom is in a decreasing trend. To access and reason out the declining export value of Indian cardamom, this study focused on the analysing growth performance and Instability by using the secondary data collected from various publications, like Horticulture at a glance. The compound growth rate was calculated to analyse the trends in area, production, productivity, export quantity and value of small and large cardamom in India, based on time series data spanning from 2010 to 2023. This study revealed that the production and productivity of cardamom were decreased due to the natural calamities of Kerala, and the export value also decreased due to other competing countries and the decline of Indian currency value. The instability in the production is due to irregular rainfall, incidence of pests and diseases and other climatic factors. For better cardamom production, farmers should prioritise using healthy, disease-free planting material. Providing farmers with training, initiatives, and subsidies can encourage cardamom cultivation. India's cardamom exports can be further increased with more effective export policies and government support.