Origin of Cumin Seeds
Originated from Iran and Mediterranean, cumin are small dried seeds with grayish brown color possessing an aroma and a warm flavor. They are produced at a large scale in India and exported around the world in huge quantity by spice suppliers, spice traders and cumin suppliers.
Global Production Of Cumin Seeds
Cumin seeds are mostly found in countries like India, Syria, Iran and Turkey – They are the top producers of Cumin in the world. A majority of cumin suppliers and cumin exporters are found in these countries.
India produces as much as 70% of Cumin seeds in the whole world. The top spice suppliers for cumin seeds are found in India. These seeds could become a novel product for start-ups who wants to go global, because of its availability in India and demand, spice exporters have a great opportunity to capture the market by boosting exports of cumin seeds.
After India, the largest producer of cumin seeds is Syria followed by Iran and Turkey which is 12%, 8% and 6% respectively.
Despite the presence of global demand, the supply is comparatively less.
As the highest quality of cumin seeds are supplied by India due to the available resources, it gives Indian spice exporters, cumin seeds suppliers, and all the spice manufacturers a competitive edge over spice exporters of other producing countries.
Global Production of Cumin Seeds (in metric tonnes) | |||
Country | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
India | 350000-370000 | 364000-403000 | 338000-357000 |
Turkey | 7000-8000 | 8000-9000 | 4000-5000 |
Syria | 20000-22000 | 26000-28000 | 25000-27000 |
Iran | 10000-15000 | 10000-15000 | 10000-15000 |
Production of Cumin Seeds in India
Production of Cumin Seeds in India (in metric tonnes) | ||||
State | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
Gujarat | 300940 | 291490 | 384470 | 319862 |
Rajasthan | 200850 | 206940 | 302930 | 286099 |
Total | 503260 | 500360 | 689420 | 607972 |
The table shows the production of cumin seeds in Indian sub-continent.
In India, there are only two states which fulfill 70% of global market share i.e. Gujarat and Rajasthan. A majority of Cumin Exporters, Cumin Suppliers and cumin traders are found in these states.
Rajkot & Gondal are the top producers of Cumin Seeds in Gujarat
Global Import-Export of Cumin Seeds
Cumin seeds are the 2691st most traded commodity around the world.
There is total of 486-million-dollar export of cumin seeds around the world. Following are the top supplier and exporters of cumin seeds :
Country | Export Value |
India | $350 Million |
Syria | $62.8 Million |
Turkey | $21.5 Million |
Iran | $4.07 Million |
Sri Lanka | $3.92 Million |
India, Syria, Turkey, Iran and Sri-Lanka are the top exporters of cumin seeds around the world. While they are the top exporters of cumin seeds, countries like Vietnam ($105 Million), United States of America ($44.3 Million), Bangladesh ($37.1 Million), Egypt ($24.3 Million) and United Arab Emirates ($23.4 Million) are the top importers of cumin seeds from different parts of the world.
The above statistics show that global demand of cumin seeds is exceeding day by day and supply for the same is highly required. This is an opportunity of life time for traders in cumin seeds to start the exporting and importing cumin seeds and becoming a spice exporter.
India Exports – Cumin Seeds
Indian spice suppliers have been leading in the game of exporting all range and varieties of cumin around the world. Here are the recent statistics that show the total export of cumin seeds done from India :
Export of Cumin from INDIA | ||||||
Country | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | |||
QTY (in M.T>) | Value (in Lakh) | QTY (in M.T.) | Value (in Lakh) | QTY (in M.T.) | Value (in Lakh) | |
Vietnam | 24688 | 37492 | 30917 | 51326 | 29697 | 56600 |
Bangladesh | 4274 | 5427 | 10067 | 13981 | 18211 | 25453 |
U.S.A. | 9776 | 17964 | 11548 | 21961 | 10771 | 21580 |
U.A.E. | 5786 | 8551 | 8577 | 13399 | 10817 | 16846 |
Nepal | 3006 | 4385 | 3788 | 5785 | 5966 | 9584 |
Cumin is a vital product for spice exporters as the world depends on India for the same. Along with these countries, countries like Pakistan, Brazil, U.K., Spain, Morocco purchase cumin from India on large scale. It also shows that there is constant demand of cumin seeds around the world and the world seeks India for fulfilling the same.
Uses of Cumin Seeds
Cumin seeds have an aromatic odor and bitter taste. It is also used as a condiment, it is also used as an ingredient in curry powder and various other dishes like cakes, bread and cheese. It is also used in native dishes of South and Central America. Cumin seed oil is also used in making perfumes and is a supportive ingredient in alcohol.
Also, like any cumin has certain health benefits. Following are the health benefits from cumin seeds.
- Promotes Digestion
- Is a rich source of Iron
- Helps in Diabetes
- Improves blood cholesterol
- Promote Weight Loss and Fat Reduction
- Fights with Inflammation.
Some Famous Cuisines Made from Cumin Seeds
Cumin is used as a flavouring ingredient in many exotic dishes cooked around the world. Following are the list of some famous dishes which uses cumin as an ingredient to add exotic taste and aroma.
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- Stem- Roasted Carrots with Cumin
- All American Beef Chilli
- Red Lentil Dal
- Cauliflower with Cumin and Paprika
- Egg Plant Dip (Baba Ghanouj)
- Pumpkin Soup
Names in Popular Culture
- Spain: Comino
- France: Cumin
- Germany: Romischer Kummel
- Sweden: Spiskummin
- Arabic: Kammun
- Netherlands: Komijn
- Italy: Comino
- Portugal: Cominho
- Russia: Kmin
- China: Machin
Names in Indian Culture
- Hindi: Jira, Jeera, Zira or Safaid jeera Or Zeera
- Bengali: Safaid jira or Zeera
- Gujarati: Jiru or Jeeru
- Kannada: Jeeriege
- Kashmiri: Zyur
- Malayalam: Jeerakam
- Marathi: Jeregire
- Oriya: Jira, Jeera
- Sindhi: Zero
- Sanskrit: Jiraka, Jira
Veridict
Cumin Seeds or Jeera is a crop which can be used as a monopoly by spice exporters, spice supplier and spice manufacturers in India. They can scoop out the benefits by selling the product aggressively in the International Market. Also because of its medicinal value the demand of cumin seeds is increasing day by day and spice traders of India have done excellent job in exporting the product so far by making India as top exporter of cumin seeds. Cumin can be considered as an ideal product to start with for new businesses who want to indulge in overseas trading.