Preface

Cumin is probably the second most important spice after black pepper.  It is very pungent and aromatic, and is used whole and/or ground. Though Cumin is a native of Egypt, it now mostly produced in India. India is the largest producer of cumin in the world. It is a dried fruit from a plant in the parsley family.  It is slightly bitter, pungent, nutty, and hot. Apart from India it is also grown in North Africa, China and America.

Cumin, also known as jeera/zeera or comino, is the second most popular spice in the world (black pepper is number one). The cumin plant is a small annual plant in the parsley family. It has a slender branched stem. The leaves are long and narrow like fennel, but much smaller. The plant produces small white or rose-colored flowers. The flowers produce the fruit of the plant, which we call cumin seeds. The seeds are lightly roasted to develop the aroma of cumin. Commercially, cumin is available in whole seeds, or more commonly ground.

Cumin's aromatic, nutty-flavored seeds come in three colors: amber (the most widely available), white and black (both found in Asian markets). White cumin seed is interchangeable with amber, but the black seed has a more complex, peppery flavor. Cumin is one of the main ingredients in curry powders, and the combination of cumin and coriander leaves gives a characteristic smell to much Indian food. Cumin is used extensively in Indian cuisine. Cumin is essential for the preparation of Northern Indian tandoori dishes. Cumin is also a key ingredient in garam masala, a spice mixture used throughout South Asia.

Ground cumin should be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than 6 months. Whole cumin seeds will retain the flavor longer.

Uses

The seeds of cumin are used for flavouring especially meat casseroles and lentil soup. Use the whole seed when cooking cabbage or kidney beans. Mix whole seeds into mashed potatoes, bread, biscuits, cakes, pickles and chutneys.

It is stimulant, antispasmodic and carminative. The older herbalists esteemed Cumin superior in comforting carminative qualities to Fennel or Caraway.  Because of its very disagreeable flavour, its medicinal use at the present day is almost confined to veterinary practice, in which it is employed as a carminative.

Formerly Cumin had considerable repute as a corrective for the flatulency of languid digestion and as a remedy for colic and dyspeptic headache. Bruised and applied externally in the form of a plaster, it was recommended as a cure for stitches and pains in the side caused by the sluggish congestion of indolent parts, and it has been compounded with other drugs to form a stimulating liniment.

Bay-salt and Cumin-seeds mixed, is a universal remedy for the diseases of pigeons, especially scabby backs and breasts. The proportions of the remedy are: 1/4 lb. Baysalt, 1/4 lb. Common Salt, 1 lb. Fennel-seeds, 1 lb. Dill-seeds, 1 lb. Cumin-seeds, 1 OZ. Assafoetida; mix all with a little wheaten flour and some fine-worked clay; when all are well beaten together, put into two earthen pots and bake them in the oven. When cold, put them on the table in the dove-cote; the pigeons will eat it and thus be cured

Cuminseed Production in India

Cumin Seed Plant

Its stem is slender and branched, rarely exceeding 1 foot in height and somewhat angular. The leaves are divided into long, narrow segments like Fennel, but much smaller and are of a deep green colour, generally turned back at the ends. The upper leaves are nearly stalking less, but the lower ones have longer leaf stalks. The flowers are small, rose-colored or white, in stalked umbels with only four to six rays, each of which are only about 1/3 inch long, and bloom in June and July, being succeeded by fruit - the so-called seeds  which constitute the Cumin of pharmacy. They are oblong in shape, thicker in the middle, compressed laterally about 5 inch long, resembling Caraway seeds, but lighter in colour and bristly instead of smooth, almost straight, instead of being curved. They have nine fine ridges, overlapping as many oil channels, or vittae. The odour and taste are somewhat like caraway, but less agreeable.

Cropping Season:

Peak Season: - 15 February to 15 May.

(Source:Ministry of Agriculture)

The annual demand in India for Jeera is about 20 lakh bags i.e. about 1.10 lakh MT. Out of this, the regional demand for the Jeera is about 18 lakh bags.

The production in other countries also affects the demand and prices of Jeera.  The production of Jeera in Turkey, Iran and Syria affects the export prices and volume of Jeera.

In India cumin grows abundantly in the mild, equable climate of Gujarat and Rajasthan where rich, well-drained, sandy, loamy soil and the sunny, conducive environment are available.

Gujarat and Rajasthan are the two main production canters in India. They contribute almost 90% of total cumin production in the country. Rajasthan is the largest producer of cumin seeds contributing about 50-55% of the total production of India. Gujarat is the second largest producer of cumin seeds and it is not so far behind from Rajasthan. As per some of the traders view both the states produce almost equally.

Due to cash payment, weight of commodity in front of farmers, lower market cess.high Prices, availability of processors, exporters and brokers and better infrastuctural facilities, a fairly large amount of Cumin arrives in Gujarat mandis for trading purpose.

In Gujarat, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Patan, Surendranagar and Rajkot are the major districts producing cumin seed, whereas in Rajasthan Badmer, Jalore, Nagaur, Pali, and Jodhpur are the main producing districts.

Production of Cuminseed in Gujarat

Production Trends & Productivity:

From the above data it is clear that the Production of Cuminseed is showing upward trends. The shape of the above graph is Wavesome but it clearly indicates the upward movements, with the growth rate expected to be persistent.

As per the trade, the annual demand for the Jeera is about 2000000 bags i.e. about 110000 tonnes. Out of this, the regional demand for the Jeera is about 1800000 bags. As India is the largest consumer of cumin seeds in the world, the remaining stock is meant for the export purposes.

Jeera is an environmental sensitive crop. Various factors such as temperature, weather, irrigation facilities, clear sky etc affect the development of crop.

The cumin prices are sensitive to the international demand and supply. It leads the farmers to grow cuminseed, nowadays further processing of cumin is also done in Gujarat as well as there are handful of exporters in the market. So, the cumin production is showing an upward trend. The production in the other countries also affects the demand and prices of Jeera.  The production of Jeera in Turkey and Syria effects the export prices and volume of Jeera.

The level of production is likely to sustain in the future also because the demand for the product is increasing day by day. Productivity is mainly dependent on the climatic conditions prevailing during particular season.

Price Trend

Determination of the quality of cumin seeds plays an important role in determining its prices. As price determinant factors like production, demand are stagnant since 3-4 years, resultantly trend in prices has also been stagnating and ranging from Rs 1200 to Rs 1400 per 20 kg loose.

In the current year the prices are lying in between Rs1200 -1700. Because of this stagnation in prices, this year crop is estimated lesser in comparison of last year.

The quality of cumin seeds of Rajasthan is better than that of  Gujarat, but due to the high stalk content its price is usually lower than the Cumin Seed produced in Gujarat.

The variation in prices due to color is up to Rs.50 per 20 kg. The visibility of ridgelines also makes difference in the prices by 50 Rs. per 20 kg.

The north Gujarat produced Jeera price remains high due to strength and longevity of seeds. Saurashtra region Jeera price generally remains lower because they produce Jeera only in two and half month, while it takes generally three and half months to prepare for harvesting. Therefore, the seeds remain thin with dull colour.

The price of Cumin seed during the year of 2000-01 soared above Rs.3000 per 20 Kg as against the normal price level of Rs.1600 – Rs 1800 because of brisk export demand.

The Cumin Seed produced in Banaskanta, Mehesana districts and the other districts of Rajasthan adjoining to Gujarat is considered the best and having a long shelf life. The grade is bold, grayish dark in colour, with a strong aroma. On the other hand, cumin seed produced in Saurastra region is small in size and light gray in colour and comperatively has a short self life and fewer aromas. Because of this difference in quality, the difference in prices is around Rs.40-60 per 20 kilograms, depending upon the size of the crop and the demand. As per the trade the quality and grading is done by the visual inspection method, and accordingly the quality is determined as super quality, fair average quality, general quality etc.

The traders use different types of terms to determine the quality of Jeera like ‘muchh valo dano’, ‘muchh vagarno dano’, and ‘charamo dano’‘etc.

Muchh vagarno danoà It means the seed is stalkless. It ensures the purity of Jeera seed. The stalkless seeds are sold at high price.

Muchh valoà It means the Jeera seeds with stalks; are selling at comparatively lower rate.

Charamo danoà If the crop is affected by the high temperature, resultantly the seed gets white colour, the affected seeds become dull, thin and small in size.

If the crop is affected by unseasoned rainfall or by the cloudy atmosphere, then also the seed gets reddish colour, the seed size is small.

Machine cut à The traders of other APMCs further sell their products to the Unjha APMC traders. At that time, they bring the stalkless volume by cleaning the Jeera by machine, these seeds are known as machine cut dano.

The ridgelines over the seeds are also taken into account while determining the prices. If the ridgelines are visible on seeds then it is considered as the better quality seed.

The size of the seed is also one of the important determinants of the quality. If all the seeds are of the same size and the seed is big, then it is considered as better quality seed. Other seeds with different size are considered as relatively low quality.

Cumin is packed in gunny bags and each bag contains 55 kg weight of cumin seed. Before packing the cumin in the jute bags it is cleaned by machines in order to remove the stalks, other foreign material, stones, dust etc. Generally cumin is harvested manually, and that is why before packaging it is required to be cleaned properly and cut by machine.

During storage Cumin absorbs moisture immediately, therefore it is advisable to store it in one layer plastic coated bags. Cumin is also packed sometimes in cloth, paper or polythene bags depending on the requirements of the buyer.

It is preserved at least one to two feet away from the walls in order to save it from moisture. The jute bags are staked over wooden carton or plastic sheet for more security.

Important Market of Cumin seed:

In India, Gujarat is the major trading center for Cumin seed with Unjha as main mandi. Earlier, cumin seed used to be traded in the Mandis at Niwai and Kekri also in Rajasthan. The mandi in Nagaur is the largest center for cumin seed in Rajasthan. The price of cumin seed in Gujarat mandies normally remains higher. Therefore, many farmers of cumin seed in Rajasthan also carry their produce for marketing in the mandis of Gujarat.

The Saurastra origin cumin seed has a definite market in North India, whereas Banaskanta origin occupies the market in South India.

Unjha: Though market of Cumin seed is widely scattered as they are located in the producing areas, Unjha is the pioneer assembling market for Cumin Seed where domestic as well as international demand are pulled and stocks from different areas/markets come to Unjha for better price realization.

One of the significant features of this mandi is the immediate payment after weighment and the infrastructure provided by the local APMC, which has created confidence among the trade community.

USA, European Union, Middle East, South East Asia are the major export markets for Indian Cumin Seed. In the international market, Sri Lanka is the major importer preferring Cumin Seed of 95% - 96% purity; whereas the European market has a strong preference for 100% purity for machine clean stocks. The main competitors in the international market are Turkey and Iran offering at cheaper rate.

Export of Cumin Seed from India

Source: DGCI&S Kolkata  & Spice Board

Form the above graph it is clear that the Export of Cuminseed from India is declining from 2001 onwards. During the year 2000-01 the total quantity exported was 17835.28 MT while in 2003-04 it was deeped to 4983.75 MT.

The decline in export and increase in domestic production has adversely affected the prices of Cuminseed during the recent time.

Being largest producer and consumer of the Cumin seed, India controls and influence the world Cumin market. Price risk management in this commodity is very much necessary to provide a comfort level to growers, trader, exporters etc, as its prices are deeply influenced by export demand and climatic conditions. It has been observed that cumin seed market for the last few months has been showing vast fluctuation due to large participation by the investors and the traders accross the country. Though Unjha is the biggest physical market for Cumin seed,still it is craving for a national market which can provide a dependable and transparent futures market throuh price discovery mechanism.

Therefor cumin seed is the fittest commodity for futures trading.
 

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