Spices and the Malabar Coast, or modern Kerala, have long been synonymous in international commodity markets. In the past, foreign traders used to come to the Malabar Coast to procure top quality spices. Even now, the brand continues to draw a lot of customers.
The majority of visitors to the IITF Kerala pavilion in recent years have been primarily interested in purchasing high-quality spices, which is a clear trend. They procure these items for a whole year. Cardamom is the most popular product in the spices and Geographical Indication (GI)-tagged thematic stall. Coffee and pepper are next on the list. There are eight different varieties of cardamom on display, grown in various regions of the state, including Idukki and Wayanad.
An employee of the pavilion reported, "This time, Alleppey green cardamom is receiving more inquiries from wholesale traders. Spices from Kerala are extremely popular in retail. In particular, for items with GI tags, we were unable to meet retail demand.
The rice brands Jeerakasala and Gandhakasala, as well as the arabica and robusta coffee from Wayanad, are also generating a lot of interest among wholesale business dealers. Different masalas and curry powders are in high demand at related stalls established by the rural development department and Kudumbashree. In addition, there are stalls offering ginger, turmeric, cloves, coconut goods, and cinnamon.
Kerala has brought several distinctive agricultural products with the Geographical Indication tag to the pavilion, much to the delight of the visitors. 19 products in the state have the GI mark, which indicates that they are unique to a certain location and climate.
These traditional products include Alleppey coir, Alleppey green cardamom, Wayanad robusta coffee, Monsooned Malabar robusta coffee, and Monsooned Malabar arabica coffee. They also include the rice varieties Navara, Kaipad, Pokkali, Palakkadan matta, Jeerakasala, and Gandhakasala, the fruits and vegetables Kuttiattoor mango, Chengalikkodan banana, The agriculture booth offers products with a longer shelf life. They cannot yet be purchased in stores.
