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European Jeera or cumin seed is an oblong shaped, sharp flavored and dark colored aromatic spice that is placed second to pepper in the context of importance. It is actually the dried fruit of an annual, thin-stemmed cumin plant, which belongs to parsley family. The plant has a short height of 25-30 centimeters and has white to red colored flowers. These flowers produce the fruits for the plant that are consumed all over the world as a flavoring agent in whole or grounded form. Jeera is also known for its curing characteristics and hence it is used in many herbal and Ayurvedic medicines.  eera or cumin seed has a significant demand as a spice all around the globe especially in the places where spicy food is preferred. It is an integral part of the recipes in various cultures. After pepper, jeera is considered to be the most important spice in the world. Cumin in grounded form also forms part of various spicy mixtures, most important being Garam masala (extensively used throughout south Asia), which are again used to add pungent flavors to the dishes and cuisines. It also has a number of medicinal uses and helps in curing many diseases. India being the world leader in the context of spice production, it is also the largest producer of jeera in the world. Jeera is generally cultivated in the hot and humid climates that is aptly provided by the regions in North Africa, southern parts of the North American continent and Southern Asia. Regarding the consumption pattern of this spice, India again bags the first place. The most of the demand for cumin seeds comes from the food and food processing industry and the worlds total demand except Indias demand sum up to a mere 25 to 30 thousand tons. This shows the countrys dominance in the major jeera consuming countries that are mentioned in the following list India Mexico Portugal Spain Turkey China Japan Netherlands France Morocco The world market structure regarding jeera is very much concentrated as bulk of the production is performed by a fewer countries and only those countries are able to export this spice to the rest of the world. The major cumin seed exporting countries are India Turkey Iran India was the primary exporter of cumin seeds and cumin oil in the world since few years but comparatively new entrants in the market like Turkey and Iran are providing stiff competition to now. These countries are able to provide the spice at much cheaper prices than India and hence are gaining advantage over it. Most of the cumin seeds are exported to the countries that do not produce jeera themselves and make huge markets for the spice. These countries are United States of America Sri Lanka United Kingdom Netherlands Japan Brazil Singapore History Jeera or cumin seed is an ancient spice having a history of over 5000 years. The origination of this spice is not known but it is said that the cumin plant is a native to the historical Levant region and northern Egypt. As today, cumin had a role as a flavoring agent throughout its history. It had always been used as a spice and for its medicinal uses. Since its origin it was renowned for its sharp biting taste that proved to be a key factor in making this spice popular and a substitute to the costly pepper. Even Bible has mentioned about jeera not only as a famous spice in the historical times but it was also used as a currency to pay taxes. Cumin also played a very important part as an agent among the ingredients to MUMMIFY pharaohs. In Greece and Rome, it was a practice to keep cumin powder on the dining table in small containers. When America was found, it was not known there, as it was a spice of the old world until the Spaniards introduced it into the new world. In the middle ages, it was also considered as a symbol of love and was exchanged as gifts. But it somehow lost its reputation and people then started using other alternatives after this time. In the modern era, it has regained its popularity and nowadays it is used extensively all over the world again. Cultivation pattern Cumin plant basically thrives on a hot, tropical climate, but can also be cultivated in the cooler regions in a green house. The cumin crop can be produced on almost all soil types but the soil, which suits the best to this crop, is a well-drained, fertile sandy soil type. It needs a minimum of 3 to 4 months of duration period after which it is harvested. Cumin plant has a good tap root system that makes it a drought resistant plant. In India the jeera plant is grown as a rabi crop i.e. it is sown in the winters in the months of October to December and is harvested in the months of February, March and April. In other cumin cultivating countries in the Middle East, the crop is planted in the months of April and is harvested in the months of August and September. The plant becomes mature and ready to harvest when it turns yellowish brown. After the crop gets harvested, the cumin seeds are cleaned up through the winnowing process.