From Meghalaya to Singapore: how an Indian farmers’ cooperative is exporting spices

The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development reported on 10 October from its president Álvaro Lario’s visit to India. In Meghalaya, he launched a shipment of organic spices to Singapore. It illustrates a route from small farms to an overseas buyer, although one shipment alone does not establish lasting export success.

Behind the shipment

The spices were processed at the Bhoirymbong facility, run by the Eastern Ri-Bhoi farmer producer company. IFAD says it can process 10,000 tonnes of spices annually and works with 5,500 farmers. A 20-million-rupee IFAD investment helped attract another 300 million rupees through a community-private partnership.

Lario discussed rural enterprises, market access for smallholders and finance with India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. The India-IFAD country strategy launched in May 2026 runs for eight years.

To assess the real benefit, we need farmers’ earnings after costs, repeat orders and contract terms, as well as processing capacity. IFAD did not publish the shipment’s price or the share of revenue retained by producers.

Primary source: india.un.org.