For many of us, evenings end the same way. A long day, a hot cup of tea, and without thinking twice, a few crushed elaichi pods tossed in. It’s muscle memory at this point. That small green pod quietly does its job, lifting the aroma, rounding the flavour, making the tea feel complete.
But that tiny ingredient sits at the heart of one of the most delicate commodity markets in the world. And its story stretches back thousands of years.
Long before spices became globally traded goods, many of them were native to India. Turmeric, black pepper, chilies, all originated here. Cardamom belonged to that club too. Small cardamom, or choti elaichi, grew wild in the rainforests of the Western Ghats across what is now Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
It was so valuable that the region it thrived in came to be known as the Cardamom Hills. Nearly 4,000 years ago, traders carried it from Indian ports to the Middle East and Europe, where it was prized for its aroma, medicinal uses, and sheer rarity.
That legacy still echoes in its price today.
A Spice That Never Became Cheap
Even now, cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, behind saffron and vanilla. India never stopped growing it. But over time, the centre of gravity in the global cardamom market quietly shifted elsewhere.
Today, Guatemala and not India is the world’s largest producer.
That fact alone sounds counterintuitive. How did a spice native to Indian forests end up dominated by a Central American country?
The answer lies in a mix of climate, farming economics, and one crucial difference in how risk is managed.
How Cardamom Left Home
The story turns in 1914, when a German coffee planter named Oscar Majus Kloffer carried cardamom pods from Kerala to his coffee estate in Cobán, Guatemala. The experiment worked. Cardamom thrives in cool, humid environments with steady rainfall and forest cover, conditions found not just in the Western Ghats, but also in Guatemala’s highlands.
But climate alone doesn’t reshape global trade.
Cardamom commands high prices because it’s extraordinarily demanding to grow. It needs constant weeding, careful water management during dry months, filtered sunlight during monsoons, and years of patience. Farmers wait two to three years for the first harvest, and even then, pods are hand-picked. Fungal diseases or pest attacks can wipe out entire crops.
That fragility made Indian farmers cautious. Cultivation remained fragmented, dominated by smallholders rather than large plantations. Expansion was slow and risk-averse.
Guatemala took the opposite path.
One Critical Difference in Risk
In India, cardamom harvesting is concentrated in a short window between September and November. That makes the crop highly vulnerable. A single fungal outbreak during the monsoon can erase a year’s income.
Guatemala’s harvest cycle looks very different. Cardamom is harvested almost year-round. If one cycle fails, others still generate income. Risk is spread across time, making earnings more stable.
Over decades, this allowed Guatemala to scale aggressively. Large plantations dedicated entirely to cardamom emerged, particularly in regions like Alta Verapaz. Around three lakh farmers now produce close to 70% of the country’s output. Guatemala went on to supply nearly 60% of global cardamom demand, producing roughly 35,000 tonnes a year.
For a long time, this concentration looked like an unbeatable advantage.
When Efficiency Meets Climate Reality
But fragile crops don’t reward dominance forever.
Between 2023 and 2024, El Niño disrupted weather patterns across the world. Rainfall cycles shifted, temperatures rose, and disease pressure intensified across major cardamom-growing regions.
Guatemala’s tightly packed plantations built for efficiency struggled to cope with volatility. Losses spread quickly. A system optimised for scale proved brittle under stress.
The impact was immediate. Global supply tightened. Prices climbed. Buyers who had grown comfortable relying on a single source were forced to rethink their dependence.
Nowhere was this felt more sharply than in the Middle East.
Why Buyers Turned Back to India
The Middle East is one of the world’s largest cardamom markets. It’s a staple in traditional coffee, desserts, and daily cooking. And unlike many commodity buyers, this market is not highly price-sensitive. Aroma and quality matter more than cost.
That played directly into India’s hands.
Indian cardamom is known for its higher oil content and stronger aroma. And while India produces less than Guatemala, its fragmented, shade-grown model turned out to be an advantage. When some regions suffered weather stress, others held up. Risk was naturally diversified.
Even after drought pressures, India is expected to produce around 22,000 tonnes this year.
As buyers searched for reliability, Indian cardamom regained relevance. Auction prices strengthened, with Indian produce now trading close to ₹3,150 per kilo.
Why Higher Prices Don’t Always Mean Higher Incomes
That said, higher prices don’t automatically translate into better outcomes for every farmer.
In India, cardamom is sold through regulated auctions. Growers must hold a Cardamom Registration (CR) number issued by the Spices Board. While this system improves traceability and quality control, it also limits bargaining power for small or unregistered growers, who often realise lower prices.
So while the market has shifted in India’s favour, gains are unevenly distributed.
Still, the broader signal is hard to ignore.
When Restraint Turns Into Strength
What once looked like India’s hesitation to scale now appears more like restraint. And in an era of frequent climate shocks, restraint may be a hidden advantage.
India doesn’t need to match Guatemala’s volumes to benefit. It only needs to supply the part of the market that can’t afford disruptions from buyers who value consistency, aroma, and reliability over sheer scale.
After all, cardamom did originate here.
So the next time you stir elaichi into your evening tea, remember this: that small green pod has crossed continents, shaped global trade, and survived a climate shock that exposed the fragility of scale. And for now, it has quietly brought the world back to where it all began.