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Abstract
The Structural Adjustment Programme carried out since 1991, involving liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation has transformed Indian economy from the regime of controls, regulations to the one characterised by deregulation and free market economy. Trade liberalisation has triggered a new set of prospects and challenges for India. Cardamom is one of the spices traded the most internationally. It is one of the major agricultural commodities of trade in India since pre-historic times and India is one of the largest producers of cardamom in the world. Cardamom is the main source of livelihood for the rural households in the cardamom growing regions of Kerala and the increased production has immense potential to contribute towards the sustainable development of these regions. As India completes 28 years of its tryst with economic reforms, it is high time to examine the performance of cardamom production in the liberalised regime.