Economics of Cardamom Production in India – A Trend Analysis

Abstract

The richness of the culture and the fragrance of the spices were the major sources of glory of the ancient India. It is really amazing to see that India could maintain her supremacy in the production and trade of spices even from the Vedic ages dating back to 6000 B.C, to the modern era of the third millennium. The geographical and climatic peculiarities of South India in general and Kerala in particular are the major gifts of Nature still providing us an upper hand in the world of spices. “Geogr aphical advantages of the state coupled with the sterling efforts of the people, particularly of the high ranges of the Western Ghats, help us to produce the best quality spices favored all over the world". The history and the density of our country, perhaps the whole world were influenced unbelievably by the spices. It was the taste of the ‘Queen of spices’ Cardamom, which attracted the Arabs and the Europeans to this country and ultimately led to the foreign domination.It was the search for spices, whic h tempted the mariners like Vasco de Gama of Portugal, Christopher Columbus of Spain and many others to undertake hazardous voyages to the East. The significance of the spices in the history of the world is evident from the fact that even the discovery of the American continent by Columbus was accidental during the search for spices. The history of the world would have been different had India not been the land of spices. It was a new turn in the history when General Diaz, first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, in search of spices of Malabar coast, through the sea route. It was this discovery, which eventually led to the arrival of Vasco de Gama at Calicut, Kerala.