A report on the Spices Board’s participation in the ‘Food Ingredients South America 2012’ held at Sao Paulo, Brazil

during 18 – 20 September, 2012

Submitted by :

Brajendra Deva Sarma Senior Field Officer

Spics Board Regional Office, Guwahati

Acknowledgement

It gives me immense pleasure in expressing my sincere thanks to Dr. A

Jayathilak, IAS, honorable Chairman, Spices Board, Govt. of India, Kochi for giving

me an opportunity to attend the Board’s participation in “Food Ingredients South

America” at Sao Paulo, Brazil, on behalf of Spices Board of India.

I also take the privilege to submit my thanks to respected Mr. S.

Sidaramappa, Director (Dev), Spices Board for his valuable guidance,

encouragement and vital suggestion.

I deeply obliged to Mr. V. S. Naresh, Assistant Director (Marketing) for

necessary arrangement to exhibit the show successfully.

Introduction:

Archaeologists estimate that from as far back as 50,000 B.C. humans had

used the special qualities of aromatic plants to help flavour their food. It seems quite

preposterous that men were once willing to risk their lives going to ends of the earth

in search of spices. Trade in the ancient world included the use of caravans with as

many as 4,000 camels carrying with them the treasures from the east, namely

spices. Now the spice trade is expanded beyond the imagination all over the world.

The fame of Indian spices is older than the recorded history. It is said that

Indian spices and her famed products were the main lure for crusades and

expedition to the East. The spice and spice product become more attractive as it is

not only adding colour, flavour and taste, but also consumption of spices provide

infinite health benefits.

India got a wide range of agro climatic conditions suited for its varied

cultivations. All kinds of spices can be produced from different parts of Indian soils.

That is how India got a unique position in the world as the largest producer of spices

producing 70 % of global spice production.

India’s share in world trade of spices is about 40-50% in volume terms and

25% in value terms. Thus, India’s demand and supply play an important role in the

world market. The intrinsic quality with clean and hygienic evokes more international

demand for Indian spices compared to other countries.

The Spices Board’s effort to develop spice exports and to make the

international link between the Indian exporters and importers abroad has been

acclaimed for the spice trade. The Spices Board with its core motive have

participated the international Fair – “Food Ingredients South America” held at Sao

Paulo in Brazil.

Myself Brajendra Deva Sarma, Senior Field Officer, Spices Board, Regional

Office, Guwahati participated the “Food Ingredient South America” on behalf of

Spices Board held at Expo Center Norte of Sao Paulo in Brazil during 18 to 20

September, 2012. Four spice exporters from India were also given the opportunity to

showcase their products in the Spices Board’s stall during the fair.

The Country Brazil and its Food habit:

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the fourth-largest country in

the World. It lies on the East Coast of South America. It is boardered on the north by

Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana;

on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by

Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. The mighty Amazon river, the

world’s second-longest river after the Nile in Egypt, flows across northern Brazil. The

area around the Amazon River is known as one of the world’s largest rainforests.

About one-forth of all the world’s known plants are found in Brazil.

Brazilian economy is the world’s sixth largest by nominal GDP and the

seventh largest by purchasing power parity (as of 2011). It has large and developed

agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a large labour

pool. Brazilian exports are booming and the major export products include aircraft,

electrical equipment, automobiles, ethanol, textiles, footwear, iron ore, steel, coffee,

orange juice, soybeans and corned beef. Brazil is the third largest exporter of

agricultural products in the worlds. Its population as per 2010 census is 190,946,886

with the geographical area of 8,514,887 square kilometer. The official language is

Portuguese.

Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region, reflecting the country’s mix of native

and immigrant populations. The country’s national dish is called Feijoada. – a dish

made with black beans, pork, rice, collard greens, cassava flour and orange.

Everyday meal consist mostly of rice and beans with beef and salad. It is common to

mix it with cassava flour. The national beverage is coffee and cachaca is Brazil’s

native liquor. Brazil is a large country made up of many different cultures. Each

region has a different food specialty. The Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500 and

brought their tastes and style of cooking with them. Brazilian use many eggs, fruits,

spices (such as cinnamon and cloves), and sugar to make sweet treats, such as

amrosia. They also use savory seasonings such as parsley and garlic. Other

nationalities that settled in Brazil were Japanese, Arabs, and Germans. More than

one million Itanians had migrated to Brazil by 1880. Each immigrant group brought

along its own style of cooking and tastes.

Sao Paulo – the host state:

Sau Paulo is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian

economy. It is the capital of Southeastern state of Sao Paulo. Named after Saint

Paul, Sao Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex and economic

production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil and also the largest city in

South America, though inequality between the classes is blatant. Historically

attractive to immigrants as well as Brazilians from other state, it is one of the most

diverse cities in the worlds. It is in fact a great city with its own idiosyncrasies, the

exquisite way of living of its inhabitants and diverse regional and international cuisine

available to all tastes. If there is a major attraction to this city, it is the excellent

quality of its restaurants and the variety of cultural activities on display. Due to its

varied cuisine, the culinary need for spices is very high. The city, which is also

colloquially known as “sampa” of “Cidade da Garoa” (City of drizzle), is also known

for its unreliable weather, its architecture, gastronomy, severe traffic congestion and

multitude of skyscrapers.

Expo Centre Norte – the exhibition centre:

A prime business hub for all trade related activities, the Expo Center Norte is

one of the most important exhibition centers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Spread across an

area of more than 6,00,000 square meter of exhibition space, the Expo Center Norte

offers around 98,000 m2 of highly flexible and versatile exhibit area. A one of a kind

conference facility in Latin America, the Expo Center Norte acts as the focal point for

drawing all major exhibitions and trade related events and in creating potential

business opportunities between the exhibitors and buyers. As per records from its

inception in 1993, so far 1,800 events have been conducted with 1,70,000 exhibitors

and over 30 million visitors.

Food Ingredients South America (FiSA) and the organizer:

Launched in 1995, Food Ingredients South America (FiSA) is renowned as

the food ingredients industry’s key gateway into the rapidly emerging South

American market. South America is becoming one of the world’s largest markets for

food consumption and FiSA offers a unique opportunity to engage with this

increasingly sophisticated and economically-growing region. The show brings

together ingredient suppliers with finish food manufacturers, focusing on the local

market and facilitating exchange of information between international players and

local producers.

Taking place every two years and attracting all of the major food processors,

Fi South America is the region’s dedicated event for this sector. With more than

10,000 food and beverage professionals, FiSA 2012 is the largest gathering of

ingredients buyers and decision makers in Brazil. With the mix of financial and

political stability, the South American processed food market is developing at 18%

per annum. There are 400 million consumers in the region and purchasing power is

increasing annually. Health and functional foods enjoys an impressive 13% growth

rate in South America.

UBM Live is the organizer of the FiSA. UBM Live is a division of UBM Plc., a

leading global business media company. They inform markets and bring the world’s

buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the

information they need to do business successfully. Their focus is on serving

professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from

journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the worlds.

Some Brazilian spices:

Brazil is home to one of the most popular cuisine in the world. Brazil also boasts

one-fourth of the world’s plants, including some of the most famous and rare spices.

Brazilians use these spices in foods that are hot, spicy and savory, including

feijoada, a traditional meat stew. Some of the Brazilian spice/spice mixture are given

below:

1. Tempero Baiano: The spice is particularly versatile, meaning it can

complement most meals and make them lively, tasteful and spicy. A common

mixture for tempero baiano consists of one tablespoon of cumin seeds; half a

tablespoon of dried parsley, turmeric and white peppercorn; a quarter

tablespoon of crushed red pepper; and one tablespoon of fresh oregano

leaves.

2. Paracress: The leaves and flowers of the plant is use as spice. It is used in

aboriginal and tribal dishes.

3. Annatto: This flavouring agent is also used in the dyeing of foods such as

cheese, butter and smoked fish. The spice has been widely exported and is

particularly well-used in the Philippines.

4. Besides the above the common spices like garlic, bay leave and cayenne

pepper find their way into the Brazilian cooking.

Activities in the Fair:

Starting at 10.00 P.M. on 16/09/2012 from Cochin and after a long continuous

flight journey from Cochin to Bombay then to Doha and finally to Sao Paulo, I

reached Guarulhos Airport, Sao Paulo at around 4.30 P.M. of Brazil time on

17/09/2012. Indian time is 8.30 hours ahead of Brazil time. From the Airport, directly

I went to the Exhibition venue “Expo Centre Norte” which is approx 30 km from

Airport. After taking necessary exhibitor badges and arrangement for the extra

furniture from the Organizer, I have arranged the stall with available facilities.

The Spices Board has been allotted the Stall No. 127 with 4X4 square meter

area.

The stall has been arranged with the available spice samples, banners,

broachers/ leaflets supplied from the Board’s Office.

Four spice export companies from India had also been given opportunity by

the Board to participate the Fair in the Board’s stall. The exporters had been given

space for showcasing their products and interaction with the visitors. The

participated exporters’ details are given below:

1. Mr. Haris Naina

Associate Business Head

Kancor Ingredients Ltd.

Ernakulam, Kerala

2. Mr. Kiranjeet Singh

Director

Herbs N Spices International

L.B.S. Marg, Mumbai

3. Mr. Sarath Krishna

Assistant Manager Marketing

BOS Natural Flavours (P) Ltd

Muvattupuzha, Kerala

4. Mr. Haider Meghani

Natural Dehydrated Vegetables (P) Ltd.

Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

The fair was held for 3 days from 18/09/2012 to 20/09/2012. All total 230 Nos.

of stall from more than 15 countries participated in the Fair.

The Board’s stall was arranged well before 11.00 A.M. on the first day. The

fair was started at 12.00 noon. The visitors comprising the buyer, agent, broker,

company mangers from food & beverage industries and people with general interest

on spice and spice products visited the Board’s stall. During the direct interaction,

the importance of Indian spices, its availability and quality were tried to present

before the visitors. The enquiries on the spices and spices products, essential oils

and oleoresins were listed according to the interest of the visitors. The spice

exporters from India participated in the Board’s stall had got good opportunities to

interact directly with the interested buyers for their suited products.

The enquiry were mostly on the availability of the spices like cumin seed, chilli

powder, mint, nutmeg & mace, different product of pepper, chilli (whole & powder),

Turmeric powder, cinnamon, cardamom powder, coriander etc. with different grades

and qualities. It is observed during the fair that buyers are giving more importance to

the value added products like oils, oleoresins and spice extracts although demand

for cumin seed, nutmeg powder, chilli powder, Garlic flakes and blended spices are

also very high. It was very interesting to observe that the buyers interested on the

Indian spices were not only from Brazil, however buyer from Colombia, Peru,

Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay were also visited the Spices Board’s stall with more

enthusiasm. It is observed during the discussion with the buyers that although some

buyers are importing the spices from China or other countries, their interest are now

changed to India for its good quality and aroma. Some buyers although importing

spices from some Indian companies, now they are desiring to shift to other faithful

sellers. A strong feeling of presence of local agency in strategic areas in Brazil /

importing countries from the Indian spice exporting companies for facilitating easy

contact were observed during the discussion with the buyers. Since language and

communication is a remarkable factor in the spice trade in Brazil as well as in South

America hence, local agents/brokers playing the vital role in this sector. Common

spices, its powder form with various grades and value added products were main

queries, however queries on the supplier of Bhut Jolokia by one buyer was very

interesting since the product is available from N.E. Region of India only.

The exhibition was ended by the 8.00 P.M. of 20/09/2012.

The photographs of the events in the fair are appended in the Annexure I

The business enquiries made during the fair by the buyers / agents were

appended in the Annexure II.

Brazil – important destination for spice trade from India:

India is exporting spices like cumin, chilli, tumeric, nutmeg & mace, mint

products, coriander, celery, fennel, fenugreek, spice oils & oleoresins, etc. to Brazil

every year. Out of this cumin, chilli, mint products, turmeric and oils & oleoresins are

exported with remarkable quantities. As per the provisional estimates, India exported

5507.97 MT of spices with 15739.82 lakhs in value to Brazil during 2011-12.

Brazil, being the largest and economically developed country in South

America, become the important destination for exporting Indian spices since its use

in Brazilian cuisine increasing every day. There are good demands for spice and its

value added products in the Latin American countries including Brazil for its demand

in individual household and in internationally famous restaurants. Hence there is

good scope to increase the export of spices from India with more awareness on

Indian spices and accessibility of exporting companies to the buyers.

Market Survey:

A market survey was conducted on 21/09/2012. Although it was decided to

cover the important supermarkets and Govt. markets, the severe traffic congestion

during the day limited my plan. Moreover, the market survey day was Friday which

was happened to be the week end day in Sao Paulo. It is learnt that the Friday is

mostly having the traffic congestion problem as the local people used to go for

outings on Friday. Depending on the level of market with purchasing power of locals,

markets are very high, Middle and low income group shopping. I had chosen the

Santa Luzia as High group, Higienopolis & Zaffari/Barboun as middle and Municipal

market as middle to low income group market.

It is observed during the survey that most of the spices like chilli (whole &

Powder), cumin (Whole & powder), Cinnamon, Mint, Oregano, Garlic ( Flakes and

Powder), Pepper (Whole & Powder), Turmeric Powder, Ginger (Flakes, dry & raw

form) are available in all kind of markets. However, the main difference is the type of

packaging with more attractive pack either in polythene pack or attractive glass bottle

pack in the Supermarkets and general polythene pouches or bottles in Municipal

market. The spices are available in packs varying from 20 gm to 500 gm and the

prices vary with the markets. As per the discussion with the manager of the markets,

it was learnt that although the spices were brought from different countries/sources,

the local companies finally make the products with their brand name. The different

type of chillis either in sauces in bottle in the super markets or in fresh form in

Municipal Market are very much used by the people of Sao Paulo. Spices that are

more demand in the markets are cumin, chilli, curry powder, coriander, mint,

cinnamon and nutmeg. The prices of the spices varies with market viz. in Santa

Luzia: 20 – 200 gram pack spice prices varies from 3,20 to 18,3 BR; in Zaffari (

Barboun): 10 to 100 gram pack spice prices varies from 1,15 to 8,30 BR ;

Higienopolis: 50 to 100 gram pack spices price varies from 13 to 17 BR ; Municipal

market 50 to 500 gram pack spices price varies from 3 to 19 BR.

The photograph of the market survey is appended in the Annexure I.

Suggestion to improve the fair stall:

1. Considering the available sample, banner and the space for the exporters, the

stall size and furniture facility were seems to be insufficient. During the peak

hours the visitors were briefed and discussion were made with the limited

sitting capacity .Hence optimum space may be booked for display.

2. Exporters requested for individual display table/sitting arrangement in the

Board’s stall for which they may be asked for higher participation fee.

3. The stall of the other exhibitors from other countries have displayed with lots

of attractive panels, brouchers and free samples of their products. Some

visitors/ well-wishers of Indian spices advised to make the Spices Board’s stall

more attractive with details of Indian spices on display. The stall can be

decorated with more nos. of attractive small banners with details of spices and

its different grades.

Return Journey:

With experience of the severe traffic congestion problem on the last day, it

was possible to reach the Guarulhos Airport of Sao Paulo in the mid night of

21/09/2012 and in the early hours of 22/09/2012 at 2.15 a.m. I have started my

return journey from Sao Paulo. The return journey was ended at early hours of

24/09/2012 at 4.00 a.m. at Cochin Airport after halting for about 21 hours at Doha,

Qatar.

On reaching the H.O., Cochin, The FiSA exhibition programme was briefed to the

honorable Chairman, Spices board along with spice samples brought from the Sao

Paulo. The analytical reports of the some of the sample collected from the Sao Paulo

as received from the QEL, Cochin is appended in Annexure III.

With the journey started from Guwahati on 11/09/2012 and return to the same on

27/09/2012, I feel the work assigned to me for participating in the FiSA, 2012 on

behalf of the Spices Board has been done satisfactorily.

Annexure – I:

Expo Center Norte :- FISA 2012 exhibition centre.

Spices Board’s stall of FISA 2012 at Expo Center Norte

Spices Board’s stall with 4 export companies ( from left : Mr. Haider Meghani of Natural Dehydrated

Vegetables (P) Ltd, Gujarat; Mr. Haris naina of Kanchor Ingredients Ltd, Kerala; Mr. B.D. Sarma,

Senior Field Officer, Spices Board,; Mr. Kiranjeet Singh of Herbs N Spices International, Mumbai; Mr.

Sarath Krishna of BOS Natural Flavours (P) Ltd, Kerala)

B.D. Sarma, Sr. Field Officer, Spices Board (first from left) Interacting with visitors

Visitors enquiring on the Indian spices

B.D. Sarma, Sr. Field Officer, Spices Board (fourth from right standing) with visitors

at the stall

Visitors in Board’s stall

Visitors enquiring on the Indian spices in Board’s stall

Visitors in the Board’s stall

Visitors at Board’s stall

Municipal Market at Down Town, Sao Paulo

Higienopolis Market at 618 Ponto 31 Piso Villaboim, Sao paulo

Chili shop at Municipal market