People, cultures have ramped up Kerala’s spice trade: Experts at Spice Routes Conference

Kochi / January 6, 2026

Kochi, Jan. 06: The contribution of people of various countries and distinct cultures was pivotal in transforming Kerala as the powerhouse of spice trade from time immemorial, experts said today at the International Spice Routes Conference.             

Expressing their views on ‘Spice Routes People, Goods and Ideas in Motion’ at the three-day event that got underway the historic Bolgatty Palace here, they highlighted the remarkable growth of Kerala as a prominent Spice Route, which also served as a melting pot for various cultures.

The January 6-8 conference is organized by Muziris Heritage Projects in collaboration with Kerala Tourism Department. India’s first such event, it is conceived as an intellectual and cultural platform that reconnects the ancient Spice Route with contemporary global discourse.

Addressing the opening session, Smt. Sikha Surendran, Director, Kerala Tourism, said long before borders were drawn, these routes shaped the world that understood the exchange as conventional.

Noting that Muziris stood as the centre of the global movement, she said it was not only a port but also a place where civilizations met, negotiated and learned from one another.

“From this coast, spices carried the scent of Kerala to distant lands while ideas returned transforming societies, cultures and ways of life. In an age of rapid change and renewed global movement, they remind us that heritage is not static,” she said.

Smt. Surendran said the conference is a call to re-imagine the spice routes as leading networks of culture, creativity and cooperation which is rooted in communities guided by ethics and open to the world. 

Elaborating on the historic spice trade of Kerala, Prof Michael Tharakan, former VC, Kannur University, said the Interportal Trade Convention in the1920s among the British, Madras Government, Travancore and Kochi governments established Kochi as the major port of this coast and it emerged as the centre of colonial trade.

Mr Pius Malekandathil, former Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said when trade in European markets got stagnated due to feudalization processes, pepper and other spices from Malabar used to enter Europe and northern Africa through the trading networks of the Arabs.

He said pepper from Kerala was one of the key commodities that traded in the ports of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic in the 8th century. 

“In Germany, pepper was used as a common medicine in the 14th and 15th centuries. German city Koln had 45 shops selling 91,342 pounds of pepper, 45,354.5 pounds of dried ginger, and 800.5 pounds of green ginger during the period between 1452 and 1459,” he noted.

Commenting on plantation labour politics, Dr. Chhaya Goswami, Head and Associate Professor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, said financial instruments such as hundis (bills of exchange) and kinship-based credit networks allowed Indian capitalists to steer and evade British restrictions on slavery. 

Dr. Goswami said it ensured economic continuity even as formal abolition policies took hold. 

While attending the session online, Dr. Fahad Bishara, Doha Institute, Qatar, said movement was one of the defining features of Indian Ocean history and connections were forged with the surrounding commerce and trade.

Mr. S Swaminathan, Secretary, Kerala Travel Mart Society, also spoke.

The conference features a remarkable cross-section of attendees, including academicians and historians, archaeologists, diplomats, policymakers, tourism stakeholders, artists, cultural practitioners and performers.

The conference also signals Kerala’s intent to tap into the growing global demand for high-value, experiential and culturally immersive travel.

Ends