Sikkim: First-ever virtual buyer-seller meet held for selling spices
GANGTOK:
The Spices Board organised a virtual buyer-seller meet (BSM) of spices in Sikkim and North Bengal on December 11 after considering the need to fully tap into the potential of spices grown in Sikkim and North Bengal.
The meeting also aimed to provide a platform for farmers, farmers’ groups and farmer producer organisations (FPOs), to interact directly with exporters, processors and institutional buyers for establishing market linkages for improving the value chain.
The representatives of farmers, farmers’ groups, and FPOs spoke about their production, supply capacities of spices and value-added spice products.
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The representatives of exporters, processors, institutional buyers expressed their desire to source spices directly from the producers or FPOs by offering a better price, which hitherto they buy from middlemen. The buyers also stressed on the need to improve the processing facilities in the region.
D Sathiyan, Chairman & Secretary, Spices Board, Govt of India, Cochin delivered a keynote address highlighting the schemes implemented by Spices Board.
He stressed on the need for aggregation, post-harvest improvement and direct market linkage for promoting export of spices from the region, particularly organic spices.
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H.D Sharma, Secretary (Commerce & Industry), Govt of Sikkim highlighted three spices covered under the One District One Product (ODOP) programme, Govt of India.
He said that the Industries Department would work closely with the Horticulture Department, spices board, NABARD, MSME, FPOs and many more in promoting the establishment of spices based processing industries in the state.
S Anbalagan, CEO, Sikkim Organic Farming Development Agency, highlighted the potential and availability of certified organic spices in the state and requested the buyers to source organic spices from the state.
M.T Sherpa, Secretary (Horticulture), Govt of Sikkim, pointed out the presence of middlemen in the current supply chain of spices in the state.
He stated that this leads to low price realisation to the farmers and emphasised on the need for market linkage programmes like BSM that would help shorten the supply chain and connect growers directly to the buyers.
(Edited by Ladiangti Rani)
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