Editing Cardamom (section)

==Production==
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:15em; text-align:center;"
! colspan=2|Cardamom production – 2022
|-
!  style="background:#ddf; width:100%;"| Country
!  style="background:#ddf; width:100%;"| Production ([[tonne]]s)
|-
| {{IND}} || 41,000
|-
| {{IDN}} || 40,565
|-
| {{GTM}} || 36,407
|-
| '''World''' || '''138,888'''
|-
|colspan=2| <small>Source: [[FAOSTAT]] of the [[United Nations]]<ref name=faostat>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title=Crops/World regions/Production quantity/Year (pick lists) of cardamom for 2022|date=2024|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]], Statistical Division (FAOSTAT)|access-date=28 April 2024}}</ref></small>
|}
In 2022, world production of cardamom (included with [[nutmeg]] and mace for reporting to the United Nations) was 138,888 tonnes, led by India, Indonesia and Guatemala, which together accounted for 85% of the total (table).
[[File:Cardamom,_khari_boali_market.jpg|thumb|Cardamom sale ₹2000/kg at [[Khari Baoli|khari boali]] market, [[Delhi]]]]

=== Production practices ===
According to Nair (2011), in the years when India achieves a good crop, it is still less productive than Guatemala.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267}} Other notable producers include [[Costa Rica]], [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Tanzania]], [[Thailand]], and [[Vietnam]].{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267}}

Much production of cardamom in India is cultivated on private property or in areas the government leases out to farmers.{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136&ndash;46}} Traditionally, small plots of land within the forests (called ''eld-kandies'') where the wild or acclimatised plant existed are cleared during February and March. Brushwood is cut and burned, and the roots of powerful weeds are torn up to free the soil. Soon after clearing, cardamom plants spring up. After two years the cardamom plants may have eight-to-ten leaves and reach {{convert|1|ft|cm|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} in height. In the third year, they may be {{convert|4|ft|cm|sigfig=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} in height.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}} In the following May or June the ground is again weeded, and by September to November a light crop is obtained. In the fourth year, weeding again occurs, and if the cardamoms grow less than {{convert|6|ft|cm|sigfig=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} apart a few are transplanted to new positions. The plants bear for three or four years; and historically the life of each plantation was about eight or nine years. In [[Malabar region|Malabar]] the seasons run a little later than in [[Mysore]], and – according to some reports – a full crop may be obtained in the third year. Cardamoms grown above {{convert|2000|ft|m|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} elevation are considered to be of higher quality than those grown below that altitude.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}}

Plants may be raised from seed or by division of the [[rhizome]]. In about a year, the seedlings reach about {{convert|1|ft|cm|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} in length, and are ready for transplantation. The flowering season is April to May, and after swelling in August and September, by the first half of October usually attain the desired degree of ripening. The crop is accordingly gathered in October and November, and in exceptionally moist weather, the harvest protracts into December.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}}  At the time of harvesting, the scapes or shoots bearing the clusters of fruits are broken off close to the stems and placed in baskets lined with fresh leaves. The fruits are spread out on carefully prepared floors, sometimes covered with mats, and are then exposed to the sun. Four or five days of careful drying and bleaching in the sun is usually enough. In rainy weather, drying with artificial heat is necessary, though the fruits suffer greatly in colour; they are consequently sometimes bleached with steam and sulphurous vapour or with ritha nuts.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}}

The industry is highly labour-intensive, each hectare requiring considerable maintenance throughout the year. Production constraints include recurring climate vagaries, the absence of regular re-plantation, and ecological conditions associated with deforestation.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=270}}

=== Cultivation ===
[[File:Cardamom plants, India.jpg|thumb|Terraced cardamom plants in India]]
[[File:Cardamom (5193854049).jpg|thumb|Labeled varieties of cardamom in storage containers]]
In 1873 and 1874, [[Ceylon]] (now [[Sri Lanka]]) exported about {{convert|9000|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}} each year. In 1877, Ceylon exported {{convert|11108|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}, in 1879, {{convert|17732|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}, and in the 1881–82 season, {{convert|23127|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Owen|1883|p=1}} In 1903, {{convert|4000|acre|ha|order=flip}} of cardamom growing areas were owned by European planters. The produce of the [[Travancore]] plantations was given as {{convert|650000|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}, or just a little under that of Ceylon. The yield of the [[Mysore]] plantations was approximately {{convert|200000|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}, and the cultivation was mainly in [[Kadur district]]. The volume{{clarify|date=August 2022}} for 1903–04 stated the value of the cardamoms exported to have been Rs. 3,37,000 as compared with Rs. 4,16,000 the previous year.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=516}} India, which ranks second in world production, recorded a decline of 6.7 percent in cardamom production for 2012–13,<ref name="Kulkarni2013">{{cite news|last1=Kulkarni|first1=Mahesh|date=2 September 2013|title=Cardamom output to fall for second year in a row|work=[[Business Standard]]|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/cardamom-output-to-fall-for-second-year-in-a-row-113090200103_1.html|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012314/http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/cardamom-output-to-fall-for-second-year-in-a-row-113090200103_1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and projected a production decline of 30–40% in 2013–14, compared with the previous year due to unfavorable weather.<ref name="Krishnakumar2014">{{cite news|last1=Krishnakumar|first1=P. K.|date=6 August 2014|title=Cardamom production set to fall 40%|work=[[The Economic Times]]|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-06/news/52514668_1_guatemalan-production-indian-cardamom-pc-punnoose|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=18 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218030727/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-06/news/52514668_1_guatemalan-production-indian-cardamom-pc-punnoose|url-status=dead}}</ref> In India, the state of [[Kerala]] is by far the most productive producer, with the districts of [[Idukki district|Idukki]], [[Palakkad district|Palakkad]] and [[Wynad district|Wynad]] being the principal producing areas.{{sfn|Cumo|2013|p=216}} Given that a number of bureaucrats have personal interests in the industry,{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} in India, several organisations have been set up to protect cardamom producers such as the Cardamom Growers Association (est. 1992) and the Kerala Cardamom Growers Association (est. 1974). Research in India's cardamom plantations began in the 1970s while [[Kizhekethil Chandy]] held the office of Chairman of the Cardamom Board.<ref name="rajbhavan.gujarat.gov.in">{{cite web|title=Prof. K.M. Chandy &ndash; Governor of Gujarat|url=http://www.rajbhavan.gujarat.gov.in/uniquepage.asp?id_pk=65|access-date=15 November 2014|publisher=Raj Bhavan, Gujarat Government|archive-date=25 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425123726/http://www.rajbhavan.gujarat.gov.in/uniquepage.asp?id_pk=65|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Kerala Land Reforms Act imposed restrictions on the size of certain agricultural holdings per household to the benefit of cardamom producers.{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136&ndash;46}}

In 1979–1980, [[Guatemala]] surpassed India in worldwide production.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267}} Guatemala cultivates ''[[Elettaria cardamomum]]'', which is native to the [[Malabar Coast]] of India.<ref name="Milian2014">{{cite web|last1=Milian|first1=Spencer L.|date=29 June 2014|title=Cardamom &ndash; The 3Gs &ndash; Green Gold of Guatemala|url=http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Cardamom%20-%20The%203Gs%20--%20Green%20Gold%20of%20Guatemala_Guatemala_Guatemala_7-11-2014.pdf|access-date=15 November 2014|publisher=[[USDA]] [[Foreign Agricultural Service]]|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023401/http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Cardamom%20-%20The%203Gs%20--%20Green%20Gold%20of%20Guatemala_Guatemala_Guatemala_7-11-2014.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Alta Verapaz Department]] produces 70 percent of Guatemala's cardamom.<ref name="Milian2014" /> Cardamom was introduced to Guatemala before World War I by the German coffee planter Oscar Majus Kloeffer.<ref name="Karun2014">{{cite news|last1=Karun|first1=Shenoy|date=21 April 2014|title=Kerala cardamom trying to fight off its Guatemalan cousin|work=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Kerala-cardamom-trying-to-fight-off-its-Guatemalan-cousin/articleshow/34016620.cms|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=8 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308062306/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Kerala-cardamom-trying-to-fight-off-its-Guatemalan-cousin/articleshow/34016620.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> After World War II, production was increased to 13,000 to 14,000 tons annually.{{sfn|Cumo|2013|p=216}}

The average annual income for a plantation-owning household in 1998 was US$3,408.{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136&ndash;46}} Although the typical harvest requires over 210 days of labor per year, most cardamom farmers are better off than many other agricultural workers, and there are a significant number of those from the upper strata of society involved in the cultivation process.{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136&ndash;46}} Increased demand since the 1980s, principally from China, for both ''[[Amomum villosum|Wurfbainia villosa]]'' and ''[[Amomum tsao-ko|Lanxangia tsao-ko]]'', has provided a key source of income for poor farmers living at higher altitudes in localized areas of China, Laos, and Vietnam, people typically isolated from many other markets. Laos exports about 400 tonnes annually through Thailand according to the [[FAO]].<ref>{{cite web|title=5.4 Edible plant products|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/v0782e/v0782e07.htm|access-date=14 November 2014|publisher=FAO|archive-date=27 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127161903/http://www.fao.org/docrep/v0782e/v0782e07.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Trade ===
Cardamom production's demand and supply patterns of trade are influenced by price movements, nationally and internationally, in 5 to 6-year cycles.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=277}} Importing leaders mentioned are [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Kuwait]],{{sfn|Parthasarathy|Chempakam|Zachariah|2008|p=41}} while other significant importers include [[Germany]], [[Iran]], [[Japan]], [[Jordan]], [[Pakistan]], [[Qatar]], [[United Arab Emirates]], the [[United Kingdom|UK]], and the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]].{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=278}} According to the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]], 80 percent of cardamom's total consumption occurs in the [[Middle East]].{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=278}}

In the 19th century, [[Mumbai|Bombay]] and [[Chennai|Madras]] were among the principal distributing ports of cardamom. India's exports to foreign countries increased during the early 20th century, particularly to the United Kingdom, followed by Arabia, Aden, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Persia and Egypt. However, some 95% of cardamom produced in India is for domestic purposes,<ref>Giriappa, S. {{Google books|2k66AAAAIAAJ|Plantation Economy in India}}</ref>{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136&ndash;46}} and India is itself by far the most important consuming country for cardamoms in the world.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=517}} India also imports cardamom from Sri Lanka. In 1903–1904, these imports came to {{convert|269132|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}, valued at Rs. 1,98,710. In contrast, Guatemala's local consumption is negligible, which supports the exportation of most of the cardamom that is produced.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267&ndash;268}} In the mid-1800s, [[Ceylon]]'s cardamom was chiefly imported by Canada.{{sfn|Bell|1843|p=387}} After [[saffron]] and [[vanilla]], cardamom is currently the third most expensive spice,{{sfn|Parthasarathy|Chempakam|Zachariah|2008|p=41}} and is [[#Uses|used]] as a spice and flavouring for food and liqueurs.{{sfn|Owen|1883|p=1}}