GROWING demand and speculative buying of cardamom in the Middle East saw Guatemala raise its exports of the spice in 2005. Guatemala, by far the world's leading exporter of cardamom, exported 31,643 tonnes of the spice in 2005, 11% more than the 28,569 tonnes sold abroad in 2004. This also represents good growth from 2003's 28,615 tonnes and is 65% more than the 19,158 tonnes exported in 2002. Guatemalan cardamom exports are dominated by buyers in the Middle East, where the pods are used to flavour coffee. In a number of these countries, rising populations and thus rising coffee consumption are boosting the use of cardamom... Read More