Kochi :India will host the 43rd annual session of International Pepper Community (IPC), an inter-governmental organisation for promotion of pepper production and trade.
The convention will be held in Mysuru on November 22-25. “India is extremely honoured to play host to the international event. Some 300 delegates are expected to participate in the four-day event, which will deliberate on recent advancements in pepper cultivation, processing, marketing, quality and research,” said Spices Board Chairman A Jayathilak, who is the current chair of IPC.
Also on the agenda will be pepper production and export targets for the coming year. A series of technical and business sessions will be held on the sidelines to address issues related to techno-economic studies, farming, production, quality improvement, research and development, trade promotion and marketing.
IPC was established by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in 1972, with its Secretariat at Jakarta, Indonesia, to promote, co-ordinate and harmonise all activities relating to the pepper economy.
India currently holds the chair of IPC, which rotates among its full-time members every year.
Jayathilak succeeds Tran Kim Long, DG of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam. Under his chairmanship, the Spices Board has received awards from the President for excellence in exports.
India, Indonesia and Malaysia are founder members of IPC. The organisation has Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam as its full-time members and Papua New Guinea as an associate member. China, Cambodia and Madagascar are expected to join the community in the near future.
PTI