Shillong, Mar 1: The first-ever Meghalaya Spice Festival was inaugurated yesterday at the Jio World Drive, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, to showcase the state’s expanding organic spice economy.
A 140-member delegation comprising farmers, entrepreneurs, cooperative leaders and senior officials travelled from Meghalaya to directly engage with buyers from Mumbai and beyond.
The inaugural day witnessed strong footfall, sustained buyer-seller engagement and structured B2G meetings in spices and tourism, an official press release stated. A high-level forum on opportunities in Meghalaya’s organic spice ecosystem set the tone for policy dialogue, while live processing demonstrations, tasting counters and curated retail displays transformed the venue into an active marketplace. Procurement discussions, export enquiries and partnership explorations continued throughout the day, signalling serious commercial interest.
The Meghalaya Spice Festival aims to amplify the national and global market outreach of Meghalaya’s premium organic spices, and the inaugural edition has started attracting buyers from Mumbai and beyond. The decision to host the event in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, is a deliberate push to position its spices in premium domestic and international markets while ensuring that growth translates into higher incomes for farmers.
“You come and interact with our entrepreneurs and farmers- you realise what authenticity is, what sincerity is, what quality is,” Meghalaya Chief Secretary Shakil P Ahammed said. “Fundamentally, our farmers respect nature, they want to protect nature; that’s why we have the cleanest of the rivers, cleanest of the villages, and cleanest of the leadership.”
