1. TIMES CITYTHE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
KAPIL SIBAL DEFENDS STATE GOVT’S RIGHT TO
LIMIT LIQUOR SALE TO FIVE-STAR HOTELS | P4
CABINET MEETING TODAY TO DECIDE IF WATER
TARIFF HIKE NEEDS TO BE RECONSIDERED | P5
With acute
shortage in
domestic
production, prices
should have easily
touched `1,500 per kg
by now. But local
prices are hovering
around `750 mark
because the market
is flooded with cheap
Guatemalan produce
— M M Lambodharan
GENERAL SECRETARY OF
SPICES PLANTERS’
ASSOCIATION
WHY GUATEMALAN CARDAMOM IS SO CHEAP?
Cost of production for cardamom per hectare (in Rs)
INPUTS GUATEMALA INDIA
Planting materials 31,600 357,750
Planting (labour) 9,480 182,250
Total initial costs 41,080 540,000
Fertiliser 1,580 22,500
Fertiliser application (labour) 632 21,600
Pesticides 1,264 48,000
Pesticide application (labour) 632 7,200
Harvesting (labour) 9,480 150,000
Cleaning (labour) 4,740 45,000
Drying and miscellaneous costs 1,580 90,000
Total seasonal costs 19,908 384,300
Production per hectare 360 kg 750 kg
Cost of production per kg 55.3 512
Source: studies on Guatemalan cardamom production and market sources
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2014*
1503
3686
2333
578
775 714
1089
839
352
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
*(Jan – 1st week of Sept)
Guatemalan cardamom
imports to India (in tonnes)
SPICE ROUTE IN REVERSE
Shenoy.Karun@timesgroup.com
I
n a 1992 dissertation on Guate-
malan cardamom exports sub-
mitted at the Francisco Marro-
quin University of Guatemala,
three words stand out strik-
ingly – Malabar, Verushka
(Vazhukka) and Mysore. This particu-
lar combination of words, which any
Kerala cardamom farmer would rec-
ognize instantly, are the varieties that
aretraditionallycultivatedinthehigh
ranges of Kerala.
Guatemala, a Central American
country, grows them from the seeds
broughtoriginallyfromKeralain1914
and a century later, this cheaper Gua-
temalan crop is hitting the shores of
India, bringing down the domestic
pricessignificantly.Thisisbadlyhurt-
ing the farmers of Kerala, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu.
“This year’s production in Idukki
is so low that it wouldn’t reach even
half of last year’s harvest. With that
level of shortage in domestic produc-
tion,pricesshouldhaveeasilytouched
Rs 1,500 per kg by now. But local prices
are hovering around Rs 750 mark be-
causethemarketisfloodedwithcheap
Guatemalan produce,” said M M Lam-
bodharan, general secretary of Spices
Planters’ Association, a group of 5,000
farmers in the high ranges of Kerala.
The state accounts for 75% of Indian
cardamom production.
Databases on India’s foreign trade
alsosupportthisasrecordsrevealthat
3.48 tonnes of Guatemalan cardamom
reached Cochin Port on Saturday. In
fact, Guatemalan imports to the coun-
try touched 1,528 tonnes, worth Rs 41
crore,tillfirstweekof September2014,
up from 588 tonnes worth Rs 20 crore
in 2013.
And this year’s prices were as low
as Rs 163 per kg as in the case of a 15
tonne lot that landed in Bangalore on
May 29. Of the total 111 transactions
this year, prices were mostly in the
range of Rs 180 – Rs 340 per kg. It is
introduced in the market with an im-
port duty of 70% and the price range
is then between Rs 300 and Rs 600 per
kg,pullingdownthepriceof domestic
produce.
Oscar Majus Kloeffer, a German
planter, first tried cardamom in Gua-
temala1914,fromtheseedshesourced
through his father in Germany. Just
likethehighrangesof Kerala,thehigh-
lands of Alta Verapaz, a city 100 km
north of the Guatemalan capital, too
had a fertile soil and microclimate so
suitable that by 1980 Guatemala over-
took India in cardamom production
and soon accounted for 60% of the
world’s production. According to the
National Agricultural Survey of Gua-
temala,areaof cardamomplantations
grew by 76% from 46,600 hectares in
2003 to touch 82,230 hectares in 2013.
Productiongrewby60%overthe
past decade and touched
38,000 tonnes in 2012-13.
While Guatemala
earned $250
million(Rs1,527 crore)throughcarda-
mom exports in 2012, India generated
Rs 212 crore during 2012-13.
Roughly 3.5 lakh farmers survive
on this crop in Guatemala. And carda-
mom farming has slowly spilled over
totheneighbouringcountriesof Papua
NewGuinea,HondurasandCostaRica.
AfricaisanotherplacewhereGerman
planters introduced cardamom.
Similar to what happened in the
physicalworld,Indiancardamomtook
a drubbing in the virtual world too -
www.cardamom.com,themostsimple
and straightforward commercial web
addressforcardamom,isownednotby
an Indian, but by Guatemalan compa-
nyCardex,whichclaimstobethelarg-
est cardamom exporter in the world.
Cardamom From Kerala Was Introduced In
Guatemala In 1914 But Has Now Returned To
Its Native Shores In A Cheaper Avatar To
Haunt Domestic Farmers
Farmer associations in Idukki
are yet to tap export market
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi: Over a century, Guatemala
has become a leader in cardamom
production and exports with farm-
er cooperatives marketing their
produce directly in the Middle East.
But, farmers in Idukki are yet to
venture into this segment avoiding
the middlemen.
With the help of Société de
CoopérationpourleDéveloppement
International (SOCODEVI) – a glo-
balnetworkof cooperatives–alocal
organization in Guatemala named
Federación de Cooperativas de las
Verapaces (FEDECOVERA) has
emerged as a major exporter of car-
damom to the Middle East.
FEDECOVERA now provides
support to 12,000 Guatemalan
households to process their carda-
mom using a common facility. The
product is then marketed in the
Gulf under FEDECOVERA brand.
On the other hand, farmers’ asso-
ciations in Idukki are yet to venture
into this area.
“We are in the process of apply-
ing for an import-export licence,”
revealed KS Mathew, president of
Vandanmedu Cardamom Growers’
Association (VCGA), which has
formed its producers’ company
Vandanmedu Green Gold Carda-
mom Producer Co Ltd (VGGCP).
The firm is now involved only in
marketingcardamominneighbour-
ing states and didn’t attempt global
trade because of funding problems.
VCGA has 3,000 farmers as mem-
bers and its company VGGCP has
500 shareholders.
Similarly, Spices Planters’ As-
sociation (SPA), an organization of
roughly 5,000 farmers in Rajakkad
and nearby places, is yet to venture
into overseas marketing. “At
present, only two private players in
Idukki are exporting cardamom to
the Middle East. We are yet to begin
operations,” said MM Lambodha-
ran, general secretary of SPA.
Meanwhile, Guatemala had pro-
gressed in cardamom farming and
production of related technology
too.Alongwithcardamom,twoclas-
sifier machines from Guatemala
also reached Mumbai port in May
and August 2013, reveal records.
GUATEMALAN CARDAMOM TRADE 2008 - 2013
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2000
1500
1000
500
0
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Quantity (in tonnes) Export earnings in ` crore
PRODUCTION IN GUATEMALA AND INDIA
Total
area
Number of
farmers
Quantity of pro-
duction in 2013
Export earnings
in 2013
82,231
hectares
3.5
lakh
38,000
tonnes `1,527 cr
69,870
hectares 80,000
14,000
tonnes `212
cr
PLANTERS ASK SPICES BOARD
TO STOP CARDAMOM IMPORTS
Kochi: Cardamom planters in Idukki district
has asked the spices board, the nodal agency
for promotion and marketing of Indian spices,
to stop the rush of Guatemalan cardamom in
domestic market. The board held a meeting of
stakeholders of cardamom industry at its
zonal office at Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu on
Monday, which saw the participation of 50
representatives of planters, traders and
auctioneers. Planters from Kerala alleged that
Guatemalan cardamom had been found in
warehouses in Bodinayakanur, which was
being mixed with the local variety to be
auctioned in centres at Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Relatively big in size, Guatemalan cardamom
could easily be found out by the
taste and smell too. The
difference in processing
methods leave the
Guatemalan variety
paler in colour, while
the local produce is
much greener. This
is because Indian
farmers use hot
air, rather than
direct sunlight to dry
the berries.
SOCODEVI
German planter
Oscar Majus Kloeffer
introduced cardamom
in Guatemala in 1914
from the seeds
sourced from Kerala
Illustration:
Gireesh
Exports in 2012 (in tonnes)
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
UAE
USA
9,488.12
2,843.75
6,372.02
681.98
1,777.36
17.90
148.44
54.51
Source: Banco de Guatemala, Spices Board
Guatemala
Guatemala
India
India
Guatemalan woman with cardamom
Thiruvananthapuram: Dr
G Vijayaku-
mar, who
heads the
Medical
Trust Hospi-
tal in Panda-
lam, has won
the British medical Journal
(BMJ) award for his research
paper on ‘initiatives on dia-
betes project’ that was
launched in Pathanamthitta
and Alappuzha districts.
KnownastheOscarformedi-
cine, the BMJ award was giv-
entoDrGVijayakumarinthe
categoryforexcellenceinpre-
ventive healthcare from 700
applicantsacrossthecountry.
The ‘know diabetes pro-
ject’ was conducted by Medi-
cal Trust Hospital and Dia-
betes Care Centre in
collaborationwithWorldDia-
betesFoundation.
“The project envisioned
primary prevention of life-
style diseases. Lifestyle
changes identified were
adopting healthy diet, en-
hancing physical activity,
stress management (yoga)
and addiction awareness.
Students and teachers were
targetedsincetheyaretheca-
talysts that bring about
healthylifestyleincommuni-
ty,”DrGVijayakumarsaid.
He said project staff in-
cluded trained personnel,
dieticians, doctors and yoga-
master, who conducted class-
esforstudents(aged10years-
17 years) and teachers. The
project reached 800 schools,
2.18 lakh students, 10,441
teachersand2.08lakhadults.
Pandalam doctor
wins int’l award
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi: Winners of Kerala
State School Sasthrolsa-
van will be awarded a gold
cup donated by school stu-
dents.
For the first time, the
education department is
introducing an one-kg gold
cup for the science fair, and
government schools
across the state collected
Re 1 each from almost 40-
lakh plus students on Tues-
day morning to purchase
the rolling trophy.
“… it is decided to col-
lect Re 1 from children of
all classes and utilize it for
making a gold cup for Sas-
throlsavam… All school
principals of government,
aided and unaided schools
should collect the amount
from students on Septem-
ber 23 between 10 am and 11
am,” a circular issued by
the education department
said.
Principals have been
asked to deposit the money
in a bank account created
by the education depart-
ment for this purpose.
Sasthrolsavam is a com-
bination of science, maths,
social science and IT fairs.
Going by the number of
students, the education de-
partment would have
raised about Rs 40 lakh.
The cup would cost around
Rs 27 lakh.
“Whatever amount is
collected will be utilized
for purchasing the cup. If
more money has been
raised, we will go for a big-
ger gold cup instead of the
planned 1 kg one,” said
education secretary A Sha-
jahan.
School principals said
the collection drive was al-
so meant to get students in-
volved besides creating
awareness among them
about the science fair.
“It has a twin objective:
this will create awareness
about the science festival
and popularize the same
among students, besides
helping the cash-strapped
government save money,”
said an education depart-
ment official.
“We have already start-
ed collecting Re 1 from stu-
dents and no one has ob-
jected to contributing, as it
is not a big amount,” added
Kerala private secondary
school headmasters’ asso-
ciation member P J Jose.
A gold cup for students, by students
EACH RUPEE COUNTS: Students collect coins for the gold cup
Jipson Sikhera
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
I
n recent times the yield
went down drastically in
the district from 17,915
tonnes in 2000-01 to just 2,287
tonnesin 2012-13.
Theareaundercultivation
also dwindled from 44,908 hec-
tares in 2001-02 to around
17,000hectareslastyear.
“Our studies have shown
that the chances of foot rot in-
creased with the increase in
soil acidity as the disease
causing fungus phytophthora
thrived and become virulent
in acidic conditions,” said Dr
P Jayaraj, programme coordi-
nator of Krishi Vigyan Ken-
dra, Kannur, who was part of
themulti-institutionstudy.
Drastic fall in
yield, less
cultivation
Continued From, P 1
WAYANAD PEPPER
Thiruvananthapuram:
Chief minister Oommen
Chandy inaugurated the
Noise-Free Campaign here
on Tuesday. But loudspeaker
rental agencies in the capital
citytookthefirststep—albeit
in protest—to make the state
free of sound pollution. They
refused to provide sound sys-
tem to the event organizers.
The association of mike
set and speaker rental agen-
cies decided against provid-
ing‘lightandsound’tothein-
auguration of the campaign,
a joint initiative by the ENT
doctors’associationandIndi-
an Medical Association
(IMA). The rental agencies
expressed fear that the cam-
paign would affect their live-
lihood.
The event organizers did
try for loudspeakers till the
last moment. They were later
compelled to bring a moder-
ate sound system from the
IMAoffice,andsetitupatTri-
vandrum Club, where Chan-
dy declared the campaign
open.
“It is a good sign since it
has proved that our cam-
paign has started on the right
note,’’ said Dr N Sulphi, dis-
trict IMA president and vice
president of National Initia-
tiveforSafeSoundcampaign.
A loudspeaker rental
agency, which has taken ad-
vance for installing the
sound system at the venue,
withdrew after it was threat-
ened by the association lead-
ers.
“This campaign is devas-
tating. How can we support a
campaign which would ad-
versely affect our livelihood?
We are not against noise pol-
lution, but we believe that
there should be restrictions
and not a total ban on loud-
speakers. It is the politicians
and other associations which
are utilizing us. They de-
mand extra sound system to
give more effects. Even when
we hesitate they want more,’’
saidRHari,proprietorof Mo-
han Sounds.
In his inaugural address,
chief minister Chandy said
politiciansandplacesof wor-
ship were the main promo-
ters of sound pollution.
“Everyone has equal re-
sponsibility to contribute to-
wards achieving the goal of
sound-free surroundings.
The government will provide
all support for achieving this
goal and will take all steps to
imposearestrictiononsound
use,’’ he said.
Noise-Free campaign starts
on the right note, minus mike
G.Rajiv@timesgroup.com
Thiruvananthapuram: The fencing around
the open enclosures in Thiruvananthapuram
zoowillbeelevatedwitha45degreeoutwardin-
clinationinthewakeof ayouthbeingkilledby
a white tiger in Delhi zoo. The fatal accident in
Delhi is suspected to have occurred after the
youthreportedlyscaledthebarrierandhopped
intotheenclosure.
Zoo director B Joseph said that such in-
stances could be averted by raising the fence
and by providing an inclination making it im-
possibleforanyonetoscalethebarrier.“Wewill
put in place adequate measures to prevent the
occurrence of attack on visitors. The work on
raisingthelevelof barrierwillbeginthisweek
itself,” said Joseph. Besides, the zoo keeps ad-
vanced darters to tranquilize the animals in
caseof menacingbehaviour.
As per the norms of central zoo authority,
the enclosure barrier of an animal should be
erected in such a manner that live wire over-
hangs or chain-link should be used to prevent
the animals from escaping the enclosure. Re-
garding the walk through enclosures, the area
open to access by visitors should be clearly de-
lineatedanddemarcatedinsuchamannerthat
animalsarenotimpactedbythepresenceofvis-
itorsandthatanimalsarenotinapositiontoin-
jurethem.
In the 157-year-old history of the city zoo
therehavebeenonlyfewincidentsof animales-
capeandferociousbehaviour.
As per records, the zoo had to be shut down
for15daysin1950safterManiyan,therhino,es-
caped from its enclosure and roamed around
the premises. There were no tranquilizers at
thattimeandzoo-keepershadtoresorttotradi-
tionalmethodstobringitbacktotheenclosure.
In another incident, the baby – who was seated
onthefringeof thewallseparatingthebearen-
closure–slippedfromhermother'sgripandfell
into the enclosure only to be bitten to death by
thebear.Theenclosure,locatedinapit,waslat-
er demolished and the present one built with
properelevation.
Therewerealsoincidentsof bearandtigers
biting off the extended arms of visitors who
triedtofeedthemortigersslappingontheback
of visitorsandinflictingseriouswoundswhen
theysatonthegrillandposedforphotographs.
The zoo authorities are now in the process of
preparingadetaileddisastermanagementplan
which envisages preventive steps and mock
drills.Meanwhile,thewhitetigerthatkilledthe
youth in Delhi zoo is identified as male and the
onethatwouldbebroughttoThiruvananthap-
uramzooinexchangeforjaguarwillbefemale.
Outwardly inclined barriers
to come up at T’puram zoo
Stricter security to be in place at capital’s zoo
Rakesh NairAswin.JKumar@timesgroup.com
DELHI TIGER ATTACK
Thrissur:Thrissurzooauthoritiestoohave
convenedanemergencymeetingofthekeepers
andguardsonWednesdaytoevolvemeasuresto
upsecuritymeasuresinthewakeofamanbeing
mauledtodeathbyawhitetigerinDelhizooon
Tuesday.The13-acreThrissurZoolocatedinin
theheartofthecityhousesaround550animals
includingfourleopards,threetigers,onelion,
twocrocodilesandagharial.
Thecentralzooauthorityhasbanned
housingofmoreanimalsatthezoowhichfaces
acutespaceshortage.Aproposaltoshiftthezoo
toa336-acreforestlandatPuthur,around8km
awayfromthecityhasbeenpendingfornearly
twodecades.Forestofficials,whoareincharge
ofthezooshiftingproject,saiditisinthedesign
phasenowandwouldbecompletedinfiveyears.
Theanimalsarebeingkeptinclosedcages
andchancesofaDelhi-kindofincidentare
unlikely,claimedofficials.
Howeverthereweresomeinstanceswhere
visitorsandzoostaffwereattackedbythe
animals,butofficialsdonotrecollectanyfatal
instance.“Inoneinstanceastaffofthe
neighbouringmuseumwasbittenbyleopard
whenheputhishandinthecage.Inanothercase
theHimalayanbearhadbittenthepalmofa
visitorwhotriedtofeedtheanimal.Inyet
anothercase,azebrahadbittenthehandofa
visitorfromTamilNadu,”saidNarayananKutty,a
formersupervisorofthezoo.
SuperintendentAnilkumarsaidameetingon
Wednesdaywillfinalizethemeasurestobe
takentostrengthenthephysicalsecurityandthe
stepsthatneedtobetakentoregulatethe
movementofvisitorssothatsuchincidents
don’toccur.
Thrissur zoo staff to meet
on security measures today
Ramavarman.T@timesgroup.com
Product: TOICochinBS PubDate: 24-09-2014 Zone: Kochi Edition: 1 Page: TOIKRK02 User: arjunm2202 Time: 09-23-2014 23:29 Color: CMYK