Blogs
Day 3 in India (Written Jan. 9) (5 comments)
Posted by: Michael LeavittMonday, January 14th, 2008
The Cochin region of India has been the center of the world’s spice trade for millennia. Apparently the soils and climate are perfect and the culture has been defined by the customs and moment and organization it brings.
The port of Cochin is where most of the spices are shipped. Early Wednesday morning our delegation met with port officials and inspected the operation from a boat. It looked like other ports I have seen. They have recently entered into an agreement with Dubai Ports to build a major expansion of the Cochin port. Much of the investment being made to build up India’s infrastructure is coming from private investment referred to as direct foreign investment (DFI). For example they desperately need airports so they have allowed 30 or so private airports to be built. The owners charge leases and landing fees to those using the airports. It generates jobs, and tax revenue but they are not required to use their cash or capital. In the United States we are able to have public construction with bonds.
The balance of the day was devoted to learning about the spice business. I visited Synthite Industrial Chemicals. Many of the businesses are family companies. I’ve found that to be true of many food-related businesses within the United States as well.
It is interesting that they view themselves as a chemical company and not a spice business. The processes they use to produce oils and extracts are similar to those used in large food operations and food processors. For example, they can produce a mustard oil that flavors other materials. French’s Mustard is a composite of materials that spread well, including a plant that is processed to provide the brilliant yellow color and a little dab of their mustard oil. They also create the chemicals used as coloring and fragrances.
They are a huge producer of black pepper. It strikes one when you see the size of their facility and realize it is producing 24 hours a day, just how many people there must be in the world to consume that much black pepper. It takes a lot of shakes and turns of the pepper grinder to use it all. Actually, with pepper they are finding ways to use an oil pepper to produce the same flavor. They just blend it in.
This is an interesting part of the world I knew nothing about. The customers for Synthite and others like them are “flavor houses”
I think you are right in making the following comment. Globalization and free market will bring the change than by government actions.
“Over time, things will begin to change because of the only democratic force stronger than a self-interested constituency: an efficient market. A global market will require change for survival, and over time some will adapt”.
“Let’s call it the Red Pepper Principle of Product Safety: Markets, not mandates, will drive improvement in quality.”
Absolutely. We see this happen over and over again in the United States: people want products handled a certain way and the market responds more efficiently, effectively, and quickly than any regulation could.
And yet politicians, loving to get their names on the papers, insist that bigger government is the answer.
Unfortunately they often end up standing in the way of the very solutions they’re trying to affect.
Respected Secretary,
I really enjoyed reading your blog, this is very encouraging step in making governmental policies transparent to general public.
Yes, India is modernizing but challenges are huge and we need assistance in terms of efficient technologies to succeed in one of the greatest democracy experiment in human history. By efficient technologies, I mean nuclear power generation technology, more technological cooperation between India and US.
Thanks and Regards,
An Indian
The Red Pepper Principle of Product Safety: Markets, not mandates, will drive improvement in quality…. a very thoughtful observation from the Secretary. I also appreciate the tremendous speed at which the observation was made known in the blog enabling people like to me to read his mind.
How often do you write your blogs? I enjoy them a lot