SNAPSHOT :
| Major Spices Produced | Ginger, Turmeric, King Chilli, Garlic, Black pepper and Seed Spices like Coriander |
| Area (ha) & Production (MT) of Spices | 100807 Ha. & 316110 MT |
| Major Spice Growing districts/areas | Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, Sonitpur, Golaghat, Nagoan, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Kamrup, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Barpeta, Darrang, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur |
| AEP/ODOP/District as Export Hub |
ODOP in Bongaigaon District for Turmeric. Dima Hasao District – Ginger Jorhat district – Chilli Dhubri district - Chilli West Karbi Anglong Dist- Ginger |
| Major Ports/Export Hubs | Darranga (Rangia), Karimganj, Mankachar, Sutarkandi |
| Major Market Centers | http://www.agmarknet.gov.in |
| GI/Commercial spices of the State | Assam Karbi Anglong Ginger |
| No. of Registered Exporters | 96 (as on May 2023) |
| Regional Office and Co-ordinating office | Spices Board Regional Office Guwahati, House .No. 43, Opposite of Hatigaon High School Guwahati-781038 Ph. No: 0361-2229778 Email-id : rodev.ghy-dev@gov.in Dr. D M Barman - 6295779261 |
Assam, the frontier province of North East, is a state of 34 districts, spread over a geographical area of 78,520 sq.km. Geographically; Assam covers the Brahmaputra Valley in the northern side; the Barak Plain in the south; and the Mikir (Karbi Anglong) and Cachar Hills centrally, dividing the other two parts. The area covered by Brahmaputra valley is 56,000 sq.km and rich in alluvial land. The largest river island in the world Majuli (929 km) is in this valley. The Barak valley is a plain land covering an area of 7000 sq.km. The capital of Assam is Dispur.
The language spoken is Assamese or Asomiya as referred to the language by the local populace. According to the 2011 census, the population of Assam is 3 cr. About 65% of the state population are Hindus and indigenous Tibeto-Burman tribal groups make up another 16 percent. Assam has many tribes that have their own languages. Boro (or Kachari), Karbi, Kosh-Rajbanshi, Miri, Mishimi and Rabha are some of them.
The state is home to some niche spice crops like Ginger, Turmeric, Bird’s eye chilli & bhut jalakia which has high market demand for their unique features. Ginger, Turmeric, Chilli, Garlic, Black pepper and Seed Spices like Cumin, Coriander are the major spices grown in Assam. Assam has a production of 316110 MT of spices from the 100807 Ha. The spice crops which are grown in the state are currently marked as major important cash crops and have played an important role in contributing rural household cash incomes, but crops mostly grown by farmers are mainly for domestic use. Being a key state for the ‘Look East policy’ by the Govt. of India, Assam holds significant potential to become the food processing hub of North East and a key player in exports from the region
As on May 2023, the State has a spice exporter base of 96 firms, of which 5 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 2021-22 through the ports in Assam is around 1888.91 MT valued at Rs.40.78 crores.
The major spice products exported from the State are Ginger, Turmeric, Curry powder, Black Pepper etc to countries such as Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
| Sl No | Item | Area in Ha. | Production in MT. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ginger(fresh) | 19351 | 183157 |
| 2 | Turmeric | 17629 | 22829 |
| 3 | Chilli | 22359 | 21867 |
| 4 | Black Pepper | 4067 | 8785 |
| 5 | Coriander | 30548 | 32839 |
| 6 | Garlic | 10659 | 67418 |
| Total | 100807 | 316110 |
Source: DASD, Kozhikode/State Agriculture/Horticulture departments.
The Regional Office of Spices Board under a Deputy Director is functioning in Guwahati under which all the Board's Offices of North East States are functioning. The different Programmes implemented by Spices Board in Assam, viz, Supply of Pepper Threshers, Turmeric Boilers & Polishers, construction of vermin-compost units, Organic Seed Bank for Ginger & Turmeric, Training programs, Buyer-Seller Meets etc. and establishment of Export Processing Units are monitored from the Regional Office.
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