A recent The Wall Street Journal article examined the boom in India’s cumin exports as a result of the conflict in Syria. A reporter’s photo diary from one of Asia’s largest spice markets Unjha in the western Indian state of Gujarat where cumin sales have seen an uptick in recent months.
As of Jan. 13, the acreage of cumin fields in Gujarat, which accounts for 75% to 80% of India’s cumin crop, was up 36% from a year earlier to 1.12 million acres, according to the Gujarat agriculture department. India’s exports of cumin surged 93% between last April, the start of the fiscal year, and September, to 67,500 tons, according to the Spices Board of India.
Syria was India’s biggest rival in exports of the yellow-brown spice, which is a crucial ingredient in Middle Eastern, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines and adds a dash of flavor for kitchens in the West.
Besides adding flavor to food, cumin is also used as medicine. It was even used in preserving corpses as mummies in ancient Egypt.
via Syrian Conflict Leads to Cumin Boom in India – India Real Time – WSJ.
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