What are you planning to cook the next time you make something from scratch in the kitchen? A nice piece of salmon? Lamb chops? Or maybe a vegan pasta dish?
Whatever you have in mind, it will likely involve the use of spices or herbs – whether it’s just a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper, a touch of thyme, or a blizzard of cumin.
“Spice is key,” says British TV chef and cookbook author Parveen Ashraf – also known as the “Spice Queen”. “It enlivens the food, gives it flavor, it makes it alive.”
She believes there is a clear winner in the battle for our taste buds. “The spice that I think has really been adopted is turmeric,” she says. “Now the next time you go out, notice anything that contains turmeric. It is everywhere.”
If you are a big fan of spicy food, then buying spices for your kitchen is a given. However, industry expert Donald Pratt says that the demand for herbs and spices has actually risen sharply in recent years.
Mr Pratt, who is responsible for sourcing at US giant McCormick – the world’s largest spice and herb company – says there are a number of factors behind the current strength of the market.
“We think the pandemic has accelerated the aspect of everyone being a little more sophisticated in the kitchen,” he says.
“And you see younger generations everywhere looking for heat and flavor. We see it all over the world when cultures and cuisines come together.”
He adds that heightened health concerns also play a role. “The desire to eat healthier is a global trend. So more home cooking with natural ingredients and replacing salt, sugar and fats with flavors from herbs and spices.”
Such is the increasing use of herbs and spices in cooking around the world that one report estimates the global market will be worth $126 billion (£103 billion) by the end of this year, up from $79 billion in 2022.
Ms Ashraf adds that the increased use of various spices is being fueled by people posting photos, videos and recipes of their cooking on social media. “Suddenly you have recipes that travel around the world at the push of a button,” she says.
Additionally, Ms Ashraf points to studies suggesting that spices like turmeric, cumin and cinnamon have direct health benefits, which she says contributes to their popularity.
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On a country basis, India is the largest producer of spices. It is also the largest exporter and in fiscal year 2021-22 the value of its exports totaled $4.1 billion. Other important exporting countries for spices are Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Brazil.
But even if your country makes millions from exporting spices, you are not necessarily going to make a decent living working in industry at the agricultural level. In fact, some critics like Sana Javeri Khadri say poverty is endemic in the sector.
She is the Mumbai-based founder of spice trading company Diaspora Co. Her company now buys spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka and aims to tackle low wages in the industry. “Farmers are paid very little,” says Ms. Khadri.
To try to raise wages in the industry, it disrupts the traditional Indian spice trade model by buying directly from farms rather than going through middlemen. As a result, she says she can pay the farm owners four times as much.
In return, she encourages farm owners to pay their workers more in the fields, “with moderate success.” She wants wages to rise from around 300-350 rupees a day (3.60-4.20 US$; 3-3.50 pounds) to 500-600 rupees a day.
Ms Khadri also wants farm owners to improve living conditions for workers, which can be “absolutely terrible” in poorer regions.
More from the BBC series looking at trade from an international perspective.
Mr. Pratt says McCormick is taking a leadership role in raising standards across the industry, particularly when it comes to tackling worker exploitation and promoting sustainability.
“What we bring to the table — whether it’s technical support for good farming practices, or introducing biodiversity into their supply chains, or how they can help them improve their living conditions — is all part of our contribution,” he says.
“We’re in the industry to figure out how to make it even more resilient so that farming communities are still supplying healthy herbs and spices 20, 30, 40 years from now.”
In California, Krissy Scommegna is a co-owner of Booneville Barn Collective, which sells dried chilies and other products made from crops grown on its seven-acre farm in the Anderson Valley, about 125 miles north of San Francisco.
She says higher energy bills and other inflationary pressures are having an impact on the business, as it is on other farms and food producers.
“We’re trying to figure out how to internalize some of the increased costs, rather than having to raise prices for people,” says Ms Scommegna. “No one wants to raise the price right now, and consumers don’t want to see a higher price.”
TV chef Ms Ashraf believes that despite the difficulties faced by some in the spice trade, consumer demand will continue to grow.
She points to her own children as a sign of the future. “Your palate is more international than mine was [at that age] and I think their children will become even more familiar with foods from other cultures.”
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