SNAPSHOT :
| Major Spices Produced | Ginger, Turmeric, Tejapat, Chillies and Black Pepper etc. |
| Area (ha) & Production (MT) of Spices | 15246 Ha & 75417 MT |
| Major Spice growing areas | North/East/ South/ West Garo Hills |
| AEP/ODOP/District as Export Hub | ODOP: West Jaintia Hills-Lakadong Turmeric. |
| Major Ports/Export Hubs | Mahendraganj and Dalu |
| Major Market Centers | http://www.agmarknet.gov.in |
| GI/Commercial spices of the State | Nil |
| No. of Registered Exporters | Nil |
| Field Office | Spices Board Field Office Shillong
Upper Nongthymmai, Nongthymmai P.O. Shillong -793 014, Meghalaya Phone: 0364 -2534226 E-mail: sbshillong@rediffmail.com |
Meghalaya is the homeland mainly of the Khasis, the Jaintias and the Garos. The Khasis inhabit the Central Meghalaya, the Jaintias in Eastern Meghalaya and the Garos in Western Meghalaya. The Khasi, Jaintia, Bhoi, War collectively known as the Hynniewtrep people predominantly inhabit the district East of Meghalaya, also known to be one of the earliest ethnic group of settlers in the Indian sub-continent belonging to the Proto AustroloidMonkhmer race. The Garo Hills is predominantly inhabited by the Garos, belonging to the Bodo family of the Tibeto-Burman race. The economy of the State is basically agrarian as 81% of the state population depends on Agriculture. Employment and income generation also depends on agricultural developmental activities to a great extent.
The state is home to some niche spice crops like Ginger, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Bay Leaf, Cassia and Pepper Long which has high market demand for their unique features. Ginger, Turmeric, and Black Pepper are the major spices grown in Meghalaya. As per the Agri-Horti statistics 2019-2020, Meghalaya has a production of 75417MT of spices from the 15246 Ha. The collective annual exports of spices and spice products during the year 2020-21 through the ports in Meghalaya is around 564 MT valued at Rs.156.33 Lakhs. The destination of export is Bangladesh only.
| Sl No | Item | 2019-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area in Ha | Production in MT | ||
| 1 | Ginger | 9938 | 66156 |
| 2 | Turmeric | 2277 | 3470 |
| 3 | Black Pepper | 1030 | 770 |
| 4 | Tezpatta | 2000 | 5000 |
| Total( Including.others) | 15246 | 75417 | |
Source: DASD, Kozhicode.
Organic Seed Bank for Ginger & Turmeric, Supply of pepper threshers, vermi-compost pits, Buyer-Seller meets, Quality and Entrepreneurship training programs, exposure visit for farmers to other states etc. are the area and activities in which Spices Board intervenes.
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