If you export green cardamom, your margin is decided at the point of sourcing, not the point of sale. A lot that grades lower than expected, arrives wetter than the contract allows, or fails a pesticide-residue test at the destination port can turn a profitable shipment into a loss and put your buyer relationship at risk. We supply export-grade Njallani green cardamom directly from our own estate in the Idukki Zone A belt, so you can build shipments on consistent lots that trace to a single, named farm.
This page is for exporters, aggregators, and trading houses sourcing for the Gulf, Europe, and beyond.
Where auction sourcing leaves risk with the exporter
The primary sale of India's small cardamom runs through the Spices Board's licensed e-auctions at Bodinayakanur and Puttady, under the Cardamom (Licensing and Marketing) Rules. Auction lots are graded and moisture-tested at the depot, and for a lot of trade the system works well. But two things about buying through the auction and dealer network leave real risk sitting with the exporter.
The first is traceability. Cardamom is bought through licensed dealers, and dealer re-pooling is common enough that the Spices Board has had to cap the quantity any one dealer may pool at 25 percent of the total auctioned. By the time a parcel reaches an exporter, the farm it came from and the record of what was sprayed on it usually do not travel with it.
The second is pesticide residue, and this is the one that costs exporters consignments. Cardamom from India is currently the only origin the EU singles out for more frequent border checks: identity and physical checks were raised to 30 percent of consignments in July 2024, up from 20 percent. A lot that exceeds EU Maximum Residue Limits is refused entry. Auction depots test for moisture and grade, not for pesticide residue, so an exporter buying at auction carries that risk and the cost of proving compliance after the fact.
Direct, single-estate sourcing is the cleanest way to take both risks off the table before the cardamom reaches your warehouse.
What we supply
Export-grade green cardamom of the Njallani ("Green Gold") variety, grown on our estate at Pampupara, Kadasikadavu, Vandanmettu, in Udumbanchola — one of the villages of the high-range Idukki Zone A belt. Njallani is prized for large, thick-skinned, deep green capsules, which is why our lots run heavily into the premium bold grades that command the best export prices.
Grades, using the Spices Board of India designations:
| Grade | Name | Commonly traded size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGEB | Alleppey Green Extra Bold | 8 mm and above | Highest value; Gulf retail and gahwa |
| AGB | Alleppey Green Bold | 7 to 8 mm | The main export workhorse |
| AGS | Alleppey Green Superior | 6 to 7 mm | Grinding and blends |
Quality parameters:
- Moisture: Erthiq dispatches at ≤ 12% — the same spec applied to domestic wholesale. Lower moisture protects colour and prevents mould in transit; confirm the figure your own buyer requires before contracting.
- Colour: vibrant, deep green, sortex-cleaned and colour-sorted.
- Volatile (essential) oil: the key marker of aroma strength. Buyers commonly specify a minimum in the contract; the tested figure for a given lot is reported on its Certificate of Analysis rather than quoted as a fixed estate average.
- Foreign matter: effectively nil in export lots.
- Reference standard: whole-capsule requirements follow ISO 882-1.
How we de-risk your shipment
This is the part that protects your margin and your buyer relationships:
- Single-estate traceability. Every lot traces to our plantation, not a re-pooled dealer parcel. If a buyer or a border authority asks where it came from, you have a clear answer with a farm behind it.
- A known cultivation history. The lot comes from our own estate rather than a re-pooled dealer parcel, so cultivation sits under our direct control and we can tell you where and how it was grown. That is the starting point for any residue position you need to demonstrate — and it is precisely what a pooled auction lot cannot give you.
- Analysis scoped to your specification. A lab Certificate of Analysis is arranged per consignment, with the parameters set by you or your buyer. Tell us at RFQ stage which tests your destination market requires — including residue screening for EU-bound lots — and we will arrange them for that consignment.
To be explicit: we do not currently operate a standing residue-testing programme on every lot. Testing is arranged per consignment against the specification you give us.
- Consistent grade yield. Because it is one variety from one estate, the AGEB and AGB proportion you sample is the proportion you receive.
- Documentation per consignment. We provide the origin and quality paperwork you need to move the lot — the Certificate of Analysis arranged for that consignment, plus the estate and lot details your phytosanitary certificate and, for Gulf shipments, your CEPA certificate of origin depend on.
Packing, volumes, and terms
- Packing: food-grade, moisture-proof packing (vacuum packs inside master cartons) to lock in colour and oil, in unit sizes to suit your onward shipment.
- Grades to order: supply matched to a specific grade and bold-size specification, so you can sell your buyer exactly what they contracted for.
- Sampling: a representative sample from the current harvest before you commit to a lot, with analysis arranged to your specification on request.
- Pricing: benchmarked transparently against the prevailing Spices Board auction price on the day, with the quality premium of a single-estate lot.
Why buy direct instead of at auction
Auction sourcing is fast and liquid, and it will always have a place in your buying. But for the portion of your book that goes to quality-sensitive buyers, especially in Europe and the premium Gulf trade, a direct estate lot gives you three things a re-pooled auction parcel usually cannot: a spray and residue record you can show, a stable bold-grade yield, and a single farm behind the cardamom if anything is ever questioned. On a shipment that can be refused entry over one residue reading, that certainty is often worth more than the small saving on a pooled lot.
Talk to us about a trial lot
The simplest way to judge the fit is a sample. Get in touch with your target grade, bold size, volume, and the test parameters your destination market requires. We will send a representative sample from the current harvest and arrange the analysis you need, so you can verify quality before you build the lot into a shipment.