Division 02 · Indian spices
Indian spices bought at origin, not through a chain of traders.
India grows and exports more spice than any other country, which only helps a buyer if the sourcing sits close to the crop. We buy in the producing states, test before dispatch, and pack in whatever format your market sells in.
Whole · Ground · Blends
Forms supplied
6+
Sourcing states
50 g – 50 kg
Pack range
Pre-shipment
Lab testing
Overview
Whole or ground, bulk or retail — one accountable supplier
Whole spices are sourced fresh at origin and handled to protect volatile oil content through to arrival. Ground and blended spices are milled to your mesh and moisture specification for buyers who need shelf-stable consistency rather than raw material. Both come under the same quality discipline.
Spice is an agricultural product, so the two things that decide whether a consignment is accepted at destination are the harvest it came from and the testing that accompanies it. We buy against the current crop, record the lot, and arrange laboratory analysis before shipment: moisture, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, volatile oil, ASTA colour value for chilli and paprika, curcumin content for turmeric, and pesticide residue screening where the destination market requires it.
Because our sourcing is regional rather than through one mandi agent, we can quote Guntur and Byadgi chilli, Erode and Nizamabad turmeric, Unjha cumin, Rajasthan coriander and Kerala black pepper against the same enquiry — and tell you honestly when a cheaper origin will fail your specification.
For buyers who blend or grind in their own market we ship whole spice in jute or woven PP with food-grade liners. For buyers selling through retail, we pack to your artwork in laminated pouches, jars or cartons, with labelling built to your local food-information rules rather than to an Indian template.
At a glance
- Core lines
- Turmeric, red chilli, cumin, coriander, black pepper, fenugreek, mustard, fennel
- Forms
- Whole, ground/powder, crushed, blends and masalas
- Testing
- Moisture, ash, ASTA colour, curcumin, volatile oil, residues
- Treatment
- Steam sterilisation and ETO-free options available
- Lead time
- 15–25 days subject to crop availability and lab clearance
How we work
We source from India's established brands — we do not manufacture
Akarta Exports is a sourcing and export house. We do not own factories and we do not claim to. Our value is that we know which well-known Indian brands and manufacturers make what, to what standard, and at what price — and we buy from them to the exact specification you give us.
01 — Your specification, written down
We start from your specification, not from a catalogue. Grade, dimension, tolerance, finish, test standard, pack, artwork and labelling are put in writing and confirmed with you before a single enquiry goes out.
02 — Matched to the right Indian brand
We place that specification with established, well-known Indian brands and manufacturers in the cluster that genuinely makes the product — Morbi for tiles, Rajkot and Ludhiana for machinery, Meerut and Jalandhar for sports goods, Kerala and Gujarat for spices.
03 — Offers compared on merit
Because we own no plant and owe no factory a minimum offtake, we compare offers openly on quality, consistency, capacity and price — and tell you where a lower price will not hold up in your market.
04 — Inspected, consolidated, shipped
Our own inspectors clear the goods at the brand's plant and again before loading. Multiple brands and multiple divisions consolidate into one container, one invoice and one document set.
Brand names are disclosed to you on the offer and named on the inspection report, so you always know whose production you are buying. Where a buyer already has a preferred Indian brand, we are happy to source that brand and handle only the inspection, consolidation, documentation and shipping.
The range
What we export
Tell us the spice, the form, the grade and the annual volume you are planning, and we will quote against it with the current crop position.
- Turmeric — whole fingers & powder
- Erode, Nizamabad and Sangli origins, quoted on curcumin content (typically 2–5%). Polished fingers for grinders; single-origin powder for retail packers.
- Red chilli — whole, stemless, crushed & powder
- Guntur (Teja, S17, 334), Byadgi and Kashmiri types, quoted on ASTA colour value and pungency so a buyer gets the heat and colour their formulation needs.
- Cumin seed & powder
- Unjha-origin cumin in 99% and 99.5% purity, machine cleaned and sortex graded, with volatile oil declared on the analysis report.
- Coriander seed & powder
- Eagle and Scooter varieties from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, cleaned and graded, available single-passed or double-passed sortex.
- Black pepper & other whole spices
- Malabar black pepper by bulk density, plus fenugreek, fennel, mustard, ajwain, bay leaf, cinnamon, clove and cardamom on enquiry.
- Blends & masalas
- Garam masala, curry powder, tandoori, chaat and biryani blends to established Indian formulations or to your own recipe under confidentiality.
- Bulk programmes
- Recurring container-scale supply for processors and distributors, planned against your season, storage capacity and payment cycle.
Technical data
Typical quality parameters we quote against
Indicative figures for the grades we ship most often. Exact values are confirmed per factory and per production batch on your quotation.
Swipe table to see all columns →
| Line | Key parameter | Typical range | Grading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turmeric powder | Curcumin content | 2–5% | Single origin, sortex cleaned |
| Red chilli powder | ASTA colour value | 60–160 ASTA | Guntur / Byadgi / Kashmiri |
| Cumin seed | Purity | 99% / 99.5% | Machine cleaned, sortex |
| Coriander seed | Purity & admixture | 98–99.5% | Eagle / Scooter |
| Black pepper | Bulk density | 500–560 g/l | MG1 / TGSEB on request |
| All lines | Moisture | Under 10–12% by line | Declared on analysis report |
Parameters are confirmed per lot by an accredited laboratory before shipment. Crop-year availability affects both grade and price.
Applications & markets
Who we supply
Spice buyers need very different things from the same raw material, so the specification and the packing change with the buyer, not just the price.
Food processors
- Container programmes against agreed annual volume
- Tight mesh, moisture and microbiological specifications
- Steam-sterilised material where required
- Lot traceability from crop region to consignment
Retail packers & brands
- Private-label pouches, jars and cartons to your artwork
- Destination-compliant labelling and nutrition panels
- Multiple pack weights within one shipment
- Consistent colour and aroma across repeat orders
Distributors & wholesalers
- Mixed-line containers across several spices
- Bulk 25 kg and 50 kg sacks for local repacking
- Ethnic-market grades and regional varieties
- Ex-stock availability during peak crop months
Division in numbers
8+
Core spice lines
Plus regional varieties on enquiry
6+
Sourcing states
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, MP
50 kg
Bulk sack standard
25 kg and retail packs also available
100%
Lots lab-tested
Analysis report travels with the consignment
Quality assurance
Nothing leaves India until our own inspectors clear it
Akarta runs an in-house quality department with inspectors assigned to each division. Goods are checked at the factory during production and again before loading, against the written specification agreed on your purchase order — not against the factory's own grading.
- Pre-production sample approved by the buyer before bulk manufacture begins
- In-line checks during production for shade, calibration, dimension and moisture
- Pre-shipment inspection with photographic report before container sealing
- Third-party inspection (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek) arranged where required
ISO 9001:2015
Certified quality management system
Govt. approved
Registered Indian merchant exporter
In-house docs
Export paperwork prepared by our team
Packing & shipping
Packed the way your market receives it
Spice absorbs moisture and loses aroma if it is packed carelessly. We choose the liner and the pack to suit the line, the voyage and the shelf life your market expects.
- Jute or woven PP sacks in 25 kg and 50 kg with food-grade inner liners
- Multi-wall paper sacks for ground spice where moisture control is critical
- Vacuum and nitrogen-flushed options for high-value volatile lines
- Retail laminated pouches, jars and cartons printed to your artwork
- Private-label packing with destination-compliant labelling
- Palletised and shrink-wrapped loading with container desiccants
Documentation
Paperwork prepared in-house, not outsourced
Every consignment travels with a complete document set, prepared by our own documentation team and checked against your letter of credit or contract terms before dispatch.
Certificate of analysis
Accredited-laboratory report covering moisture, ash, colour value and the parameters agreed on your order.
Phytosanitary & health certificates
Plant quarantine and health certification arranged to the importing country's requirements.
Commercial set
Invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin and fumigation certificate where required.
Global reach
Quoted in your currency, shipped from your nearest Indian port
Enquiries reach us from importers, distributors, contractors and retail chains across five continents — Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. We quote FOB, CFR or CIF, load from Mundra, Kandla, Nhava Sheva or Pipavav depending on your routing, and keep one commercial contact accountable for the consignment from purchase order to bill of lading.
Africa
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa
Middle East
UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq
Europe
Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom
Americas
United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile
Asia-Pacific
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan
Load ports
Mundra · Kandla · Pipavav · Nhava Sheva
Incoterms
FOB · CFR · CIF · EXW on request
Correspondence
English, with documentation to buyer-country requirements
Buyer questions
What importers usually ask us first
Can you match a specification we already buy against?
Yes — send us your existing specification sheet or a sample. We source against your parameters (mesh, moisture, ash, colour value, microbiology) rather than asking you to accept an Indian standard grade, and the pre-shipment analysis is checked against that sheet before the container is released.
Do you offer steam-sterilised spices?
Yes. Steam sterilisation is available on ground and whole lines for buyers with microbiological limits, and we can confirm ETO-free processing where the destination market prohibits ethylene oxide treatment.
How does crop seasonality affect pricing and availability?
Most Indian spice lines are harvested once a year, so both price and grade move with the crop. We quote against the current crop position and tell you when it is worth booking volume ahead of the season rather than buying spot.
Can you pack under our own brand?
Yes. Private-label retail packing is routine: your artwork, your pack weights, your barcode, and labelling built to your local food-information regulations. We share pre-print proofs for approval before the packing run.
What is the minimum order?
One 20-foot container for a single line. Smaller quantities are possible as part of a mixed container across several spices, or alongside another Akarta division in the same shipment.
Common enquiries
Specifications buyers most often ask us to quote
These are the enquiries that reach this desk most weeks. If yours is on the list, we already have the grades, packing and loadability worked out — send the quantity and destination port and we will price it.
Export desk
Request a quotation
Send your product type, grade, quantity and destination port. Our export desk replies with available grades, packing options, loadability and indicative pricing — usually within one working day.