Kerala’s capital city hosted the second edition of the International Spice Conference, one of the most important events for the spice industry, from February 12th to 14th 2017.Held at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, the theme for ISC 2017 was ‘21st Century Spice Industry - Disrupt or Be Disrupted’, and focussed on disruptive innovations as the key to survive in a market that is challenged by various factors.The International Spice Conference emerged as the single most sought after platform to think, act and evolve relevant measures, to discover path-breaking innovations, to face and find solutions and to work around the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous challenges that the spice industry poses.

Some of the major topics discussed at ISC 2017 were Spice Cultivation Challenges Ahead, Products and Operational Excellence, Disruptions in Spice Quality Standards, Food Safety and Sustainability and Building the Culture of Innovation with Value Added Spices.

Over 700 delegates representing various States, industry leaders from 40 countries, representatives of international spice associations, policymakers and end-users are expected to attended.Special sessions were held on “Organic Spices: Supply and Demand Challenges” and “Crops and Markets - What the Future Holds.”

Eminent industry leaders were honoured with lifetime achievement awards on the inaugural day. A spice tour that covers the tropical spice plantations in Kerala and the chilli farms in Andhra Pradesh were also conducted.