SNAPSHOT :
| Major Spices Produced | Chilli, Turmeric, Black pepper, Ajwain, Coriander, Ginger, Tamarind, etc. |
| Area (ha) & Production (MT) of Spices | 200133 ha & 896182 MT |
| Major Spice Growing Areas | Vishakhapatnam, Guntur, Prakasham, Ananthpur, Kurnool, East Godavari, Krishna, Nellore and Srikakulam |
| Agri Export Policy (AEP) / One District One Products (ODOP) | AEP- Guntur for Chilli ODOP -Guntur & Prakasam Districts for Turmeric and Chilli |
| Major Ports / Export Hubs | Visakhapatnam & Krishnapatnam (Major Ports) ; Gangavaram ; Kakinada Deep Water ; Kakinada Anchorage & Rawa |
| Major Market Centers | APMC, Guntur & other agricultural produce market committees (APMC) - total 33 nos click here |
| GI / Commercial Spices of the State | Guntur Sannam Chilli (GI) |
| No. of Registered Exporters | 140 |
| Regional Office | Guntur |
| Spices Park | Spices Park, Guntur
Vankayalapadu village,
Edlapadu Mandal, Andhra Pradesh,
Pin: 522004
Email: sbroddm@gmail.com Total area 125 acres ; Common Processing Centre available for Chilli Total number of plots : 58 |
| Quality Evaluation Laboratory | Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Guntur Chuttugunta Center, G.T. Road, Guntur Email: sbroddm@gmail.com |
Andhra Pradesh, the 7th largest state of India is located in the south-eastern coastal region of the country. The State has 13 districts, and its economy is mainly based on agriculture and livestock. Four important rivers of India, the Godavari, Krishna, Penna, and Tungabhadra flow through the State. Sixty percent of the population is engaged in agriculture and related activities. It is an exporter of many agricultural products and is also known as "Rice Bowl of India". The State has 27 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) out of which 24 are currently in operation. Agro-climatic diversity of the Eastern Ghats and topographical variations enable the State to grow a wide range of horticultural crops including myriad varieties of spices including Chilli, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Ajwain, Coriander, Ginger, Tamarind etc.
As of September 2021, the State has a spice exporter base of around 150 firms, of which 7 are manufacturer exporters, with own facilities for processing and value addition of spices. The collective annual exports of spices and spice products during the year 2019-20 through the ports in Andhra Pradesh is around 34058.37 MT valued at Rs.518.31 crores, thereby contributing to a share of around 3% in quantity and 2% in value of India's total spice exports. The major spice products exported from the State are Chilli & Chilli products, Curry Powder, Turmeric, Tamarind, etc., to countries such as Sri Lanka, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates etc,.
Among the 75 spices cultivated in India, 8 spices such as Chilli, Turmeric, Black pepper, Ajwain, Coriander, Ginger, Tamarind, etc., are widely grown in Andhra Pradesh. Guntur Sannam Chilli, which is of commercial demand due to its pungency and for extraction of capsaicin has fetched the Geographical Indication tag.
Andhra Pradesh along with Telangana is the major Chilli production hub of India. Other spices grown on a commercial scale in the State are Turmeric, Tamarind, Ginger, Ajwain etc. The details of the area and production of spices in Andhra Pradesh are given in the table below.
| Sl No | Item | Area in Ha. | Production in MT. | Productivity In MT/Ha. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Turmeric | 29717 | 71321 | 2.40 |
| 3 | Black pepper | 432 | 250 | 0.61 |
| 4 | Ajwain | 10992 | 2906 | 0.26 |
| 5 | Coriander | 1119 | 553 | 0.40 |
| 6 | Ginger | 294 | 2930 | 9.96 |
| 7 | Tamarind | 4497 | 13196 | 2.93 |
| Total | 200133 | 896182 | ||
Spices Board is having a Regional Office & Quality Evaluation Laboratory at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, a Spices Park at Edlapadu Mandal in Guntur District and a Field Office at Paderu. The Spices Park, spread over an area of 125 acres, has common infrastructure facilities for processing, value addition and warehousing of spices, particularly Chilli. M/s. A P State Warehousing Corporation (APSWC) has established 2 Cold storages having a total storage capacity of 13000 MT and a warehouse with a storage capacity of 10000 MT in the park. Individual plots have been allotted in the park to spice exporters to establish state of the art processing facilities. Five entrepreneurs have set up spice processing units in the park, which are currently operational.
Spices Board in association with Food & Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations and with support from the Standards & Trade Development Facility under the World Trade Organisation in implementing a project titled “Strengthening Spice Value Chain in India and Improving Market Access Through Capacity Building". The project aims at strengthening the adoption of Good Agriculture Practises (GAP) in spices, capacity building and knowledge sharing with a view to reduce the Sanitary & Phyto Sanitary concerns, thereby enhancing market linkage prospects and in the initial phase covers Black Pepper in Paderu district of Andhra Pradesh.
In order to address various issues being faced by the Indian Chilli industry and to facilitate Indian exporters for sourcing chilli that meet the quality standards laid by the importing countries and to support farmers for export oriented production of the produce, Spices Board has constituted a Chilli Task Force committee (CTFC).
Board is also implementing various Development and Marketing schemes and Research and Laboratory activities, the details of which may please be seen from the Board's website indianspices.com