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Cumin
seed is native of Egypt which is now mainly grown in India, Middle
east (Iran, Turkey, Syria), North Africa (Morocco) and Latin America (Chile, Mexico).
It is widely used as spice and for medicinal purpose all over the
world. It is also known as jeera in hindi. There is also black cumin mainly found
in Iran but its availability is limited and more costly than regular cumin and
known for its medicinal use. Cumin is often grounded to mix with other spices
and to use in various cuisines. India is the largest producer, exporter
and consumer of cumin seed with Syria, Turkey and Iran being main competitors.
Being a rabi crop sowing period is from October and contiunes till the fist week
of December and the crop is harvested from Feb onwards and main arrivals
in market are during March-April. Generally cumin crop gets matured in 110-115
days. In Syria the harvesting period is June-July whereas for Turkey it is July-September
and Iran June-August so India remains the major supplier to the world market till
the crop of its competitors arrive. India consumes 90% of its total output
whereas Middle east producers exports around 85-90% of their cumin production. India
exports cumin seed to many countries in Europe, Gulf, Far East Asia, Other
Asian countries, America etc. where it is widely preferred over cumin of other
origins. It is also exported in powder form mainly to U.S. and U.K. India also
exports cumin oil and oleoresins but in very limited quantity. Exports of jeera
have shown variations over a period of time due to fluctuating production in India. The
prices for cumin seed
are highly volatile due to supply and demand fluctuations and also as the market
is mainly dominated by stockists and speculators. India is having a very big domestic
market so farmers need not to rely just on exports to get good price. With the
availability of cumin futures, the traders can now hedge their risk on
exchanges. | 
