About

• There are five statutory Commodity Boards under the Department of Commerce. These Boards are responsible for production, development and export of tea, coffee, rubber, spices and tobacco.

Coffee Board of India

• The Coffee Board is a statutory organization constituted under the Coffee Act, 1942 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The Board comprises 33 Members including the Chairperson. The remaining 32 Members representing various interests are appointed as per provisions under the Coffee Act.
• The Board is mainly focusing its activities in the areas of research, extension, development, market intelligence, external & internal promotion and welfare measures. 
• The Board has a Central Coffee Research Institute at Balehonnur (Karnataka) with a Sub-Station at Chettalli (Karnataka) and Regional Coffee Research Stations at Chundale (Kerala), Thandigudi (Tamil Nadu), Narasipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Diphu (Assam), apart from the extension units located in coffee growing regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and North Eastern Region.

Rubber Board

• The Rubber Board is a statutory organization constituted under the Rubber Act, 1947 and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
• The Board is headed by a Chairman appointed by the Central Government and has 28 members representing various interests of natural rubber industry. 
• The Board’s headquarters is located at Kottayam in Kerala. 
• The Board is responsible for the development of the rubber industry in the country by way of assisting and encouraging research, development, extension and training activities related to rubber. 
• It also maintains statistical data of rubber, takes steps to promote marketing of rubber and undertake labour welfare activities. 

Tea Board

• The Tea Board was set up as a statutory body in 1954 as per the Tea Act, 1953. 
• As an apex body, it looks after the overall development of the tea industry. 
• The Board consists of 32 Members, including Chairman and Deputy Chairman appointed by the Government of India representing different sections of the Tea industry. 
• The Board’s Head Office is situated in Kolkata and there are two Zonal offices-one each in North Eastern Region at Jorhat in Assam and in Southern Region at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. 
• Besides, there are 18 regional offices spread over in all the major tea growing states and four metros. For the purpose of tea promotion, three overseas offices are located at London, Dubai and Moscow. 
• Being the regulatory body, the Board exerts control over the producers, manufacturers, exporters, tea brokers, auction organizers and warehouse keepers through various control orders notified under Tea Act.

Tobacco Board

• The Tobacco Board was constituted as a statutory body in 1976 under the Tobacco Board Act, 1975. 
• The Board is headed by a Chairman with its headquarters at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh and is responsible for the development of the tobacco industry.
• While the primary function of the Board is export promotion of all varieties of tobacco and its allied products, its functions extend to production, distribution (for domestic consumption and exports) and regulation of Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco.

Spices Board

• Spices Board is a statutory body constituted in 1987 under the Spices Board Act, 1986 by merging the erstwhile Cardamom Board and the Spices Export Promotion Council under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce. 
• Spices Board is responsible for the overall development of cardamom industry and export promotion of 52 spices listed in the schedule of the Spices Board Act, 1986. 
• The primary function of the Board includes development of small and large cardamom, promotion, development, regulation of export of spices and control on quality of spices for export. 
• The Spices Board also undertakes research activities on cardamom (small & large) under Indian Cardamom Research Institute.