Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, will be the keynote speaker at the World Spice Congress, which will be held in Navi Mumbai from September 15th to September 17th, 2023. At the ceremony, he also presented the Spices Export Excellence Awards for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
“Spices unite India. Spices of India resonate across the country and reflect the rich traditional culture and heritage along with our well-known trading power. We have to once again bring back the old charm that Indian spices had across the world. India doesn’t settle for second best anymore. We have to become a world leader in the Spice Industry,” said Goyal.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Goyal, emphasized on the need to expand the spice industry through value addition to exports. He urged the industry stakeholders to work together to achieve a target of 10 billion dollars for exports by 2030 from the current 4 billion.
He stated that achieving the target would require everyone to work together with focused energies to capture newer markets through increased value addition along with expanding existing markets. Goyal also suggested that the 35 million people of Indian origin residing across the world be made brand ambassadors to encourage increased consumption of Spices across the world.
The Minister urged the Spice industry to strive towards inclusivity and ensure support to farmers for adequate production. Goyal also spoke on the importance of creating a certified brand value for Indian spices. Addressing delegates from other parts of the world, the Minister stated that he was delighted by their participation and appealed to them to enjoy Indian hospitality while also concluding successful business collaborations.
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 Minister congratulated the Spices Board on conducting the Spice Congress after a hiatus of 7 years and also requested it to organize a world class exposition, symposium and conference of the spice industry in Delhi in the year 2024. He asked the Board to invite all the players in the industry for the event and allow the world to see India’s capabilities.
In conclusion, Goyal noted that there was no better time to conduct this Congress than on the sidelines of the Indian presidency of G20. “The launch of the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor is similar to the Spice Route of the past. So we should be actually looking up to this new initiative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched along with other world leaders. This is an appropriate opportunity for us to bring back the glory of the old Spice Route.”
“It is an opportunity to celebrate the flavors of India and the versatility the country offers. Let us go to capture world markets. Just like life is incomplete without celebrations, food would be incomplete without spices. We should make this an essential ingredient across the world. The story of Indian Spices should be talked about and written about all over the world. Let us see how our grandmother’s remedies can be remedies of the world.”
“Lets make India the preferred source of spices and capture the imagination of the rest of the world. If we all work together as a team we can spice up the world of commerce and exports. Let us delight the world with the magic of spices and let us preserve this magic for future generations” appealed the Minister to those present on the occasion,” he added.
The World Spice Congress 2023 has also curated an experience zone. It is an innovative take on the exhibitions for the delegates and participants to get a holistic feel of spices related to the gustatory, olfactory, and visual senses. The zone, located at a prime location at the World Spice Congress, gives a hands-on experience to visitors in the universe of spices.