Producers get a boost
coorg green cardamom, grown in southwest Karnataka, has received the geographical area indicator or GI status. This means only cardamom grown in Kodagu--formerly Coorg--can be marketed as Coorg cardamom.
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, under the commerce ministry, granted the gi status to Coorg cardamom in March, the examiner of gi at the gi registry office in Chennai confirmed. The application was sent by the Spices Board headquarters at Ernakulam in Kerala.
Geographical indications are part of the intellectual property law, and are awarded to products that have some unique characteristics owing to a particular region. Green cardamom is grown in the forest ecosystems of the Western Ghats. The climatic conditions in Kodagu give it a distinct aroma, its faint green colour and small size that set it apart from green cardamom grown elsewhere.
The gi tag helps protect the repute of the product and the business of producers in the region. Coorg orange already enjoys the gi status.
India's export of green cardamom has gone up from 400 tonnes in 2007 to 475 tonnes in 2008.