According to the fiscal year 2025/26 , black cardamom has become the second largest export product of Nepal. Nepal exported approximately 3,461 tonnes of the spice in the first six months of the current fiscal year making Rs. 7.19 billion worth. West Asia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are the major consumers of the spice, however, the product is not directly sold to the respective countries.
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| Source: the Kathmandu Post |
Nepal earned Rs. 7.68 billion selling 4,301 tonnes of large cardamom in the last fiscal year. With an increasing demand of the product since the past four years the farmers are getting encouraged to expand the cultivation area to boost the output.
Deepak Nepal, president of the Federal of Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs of Nepal said,
“Currently, the bold quality is priced at Rs. 2,600 per kg, jumbo jet quality is being traded at Rs. 2,425 with the ordinary worth Rs. 2,350 per kilogram. Last year, large cardamom traded at Rs. 2,800 per kg.”
“We expect the price to grow further.”
Nepal is impressively the 5th largest producer of black cardamom in the world and 4th among exporters contributing 68% of global supply, followed by India and Bhutan. The spice is excessively grown in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan. It was first introduced to Nepal in 1865 when labourers brought plants from Sikkim to the Ilam district. Although the spice was introduced in the mid-19th century, commercial cultivation started in 1953, and now has become one of the major crops for the farmers in the hilly regions of Nepal.
Ilam, Taplejung, Panchthat, Tehrathum, Sankhuwasabha, Dhankuta, and Bhojpur are the major cardamom producing districts in Nepal and the cultivation is expanding in the Bagmati and Gandaki provinces too.
Though there is progressive growth, Nepal’s cardamom sector still faces major challenges like price volatility, limited processing facilities and sole dependence on the Indian market.
Almost all of Nepal’s black cardamom i.e. 99% goes to India. Nepali farmers are getting good value for their product with the rising demand for the past few years to prepare dishes like biryani and other meat items.
Exporters state that the product is processed, graded, packaged, and branded in India before being re-exported to the target Muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other Golf markets.
Pakistan is the largest importer of large cardamom as it purchases roughly 60% of the spice exports from India. Traders and experts in Nepal have been urging the government to negotiate with Bangladesh and Pakistan to reduce heavy taxes on export, however, it is still a big challenge for Nepal to diversify the product beyond India. Reports suggest that Bangladesh imposes 5 to 7 different duties on the spice that makes 89% tariff.
Nepal has been trying to export large quantities of the spice to Bangladesh through the Kakarbhitta-Panitank-Phulbari route as the 44-km route reaches to the Bangladeshi border point of Banglabandha. Despite several attempts, traders claim that nothing has been achieved till date making India the single export market.
Lack of direct market access, poor infrastructure, and reliance on neighboring countries like India and Pakistan are some of the key challenges that hinders direct export of the product to target countries.
For long term sustainability of the product, investment in value added processing, branding and global market exposure will be essential in the future. Global market access can be enhanced by establishing a unique brand, improving post harvest quality, implementing strict certifications and diversifying export markets beyond the traditional buyers.
Some of the important strategies to boost up the global market access for black cardamom can be
Quality control and standardization by developing common regional standards and grading systems
Branding, positioning like “Himalayan Large Black Cardamom” and storytelling
Market diversification targeting emerging markets and improvise supply chain
Cultivation with sustainability conserving the biodiversity
