THE Indian Spices Board has suggested a series of measures to enhance the quality of the country’s nutmeg and mace in order to better meet the strict regulations imposed by key importers. The board also plans to position nutmeg as a purely organic crop and would undertake campaigns to promote its uses and benefits. It is felt that this will help in sustaining the market and thereby stabilise prices. These steps, to be implemented during the 12th Plan period, are aimed at improving the harvest and post-harvest operations, and marketing and exports of nutmeg, officials said at the nutmeg farmer-exporter interface last month. The issue of aflatoxin in nutmeg and mace has emerged as major one, as the harvest takes place during the peak of the monsoon... Read More