Clove Guide

1. Brazil

Most of the commercially produced cloves in Brazil is situated in the Southern part of Bahia, in the cities of Valença, Ituvera, Taperoa, Camamu, Nilo Peçanha, and Una (Ceplac);

There is cloves production in smaller quantities in Espirito Santo, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro (Mdic).

2. Tanzania

Cloves are mainly produced in Zanzibar and Pemba Islands.

Production of cloves for commercial purposes in mainland Tanzania in Tanga and Morogoro regions is a recent development.

3. India

In India, coastal and hilly regions in southwestern and southeastern India are the biggest producers of cloves.

States of Tamil Nadu (largest producer with main areas of cultivation in Nilgiris, Tirunelveli, and Kanyakumari), Kerala (Calicut, Kottayam), Coastal Karnataka are the primary producers.

Some marginal farming is also done in West Bengal and North-Eastern regions.

4. Indonesia

Maluku is the biggest producer of cloves in Indonesia. The thriving plantation can be found in Ternate, Ambon, Masohi, and Seram.

In the East Java region, clove plantations can be found in Trenggalek, Pacitan, Malang, Ponorogo, Nganjuk, and Pasuruan.

Central Sulawesi: The biggest clove producing areas in Central Sulawesi are Tolotoli, Tojo Una-Una, Parigi Moutong, and Donggala.

South Sulawesi: The most predominant areas for clove production in Southeast Sulawesi include Luwu, Bulukumba, Sinjai, Wajo, Bone, Enrekang, dan Tator.

1. India

Clove in India is harvested, starting at the end of the year from December onwards to February.

The first season of harvest starts at the beginning of December.

The second season starts in the mid of January till February.

Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, the main Clove growing states in India, have 2-3 crops of clove annually.

2. Brazil

Planting: the best definitive planting is between April and July, which coincides with Southern Bahia’s rainy season.

Harvesting: depends on the climate conditions, but it is usually between September to February.

3. Indonesia

Clove trees are first harvested when the tree is 6-8 years old after their initial planting.

The best time to harvest and process the clove buds in Indonesia is during the summer, which is from April to September.

4. Tanzania

There are two harvesting seasons of cloves annually: the Mwaka season (July- November) and the Vuli season (December - March). The Mwaka cloves tend to be heavier than the Vuli cloves.

In 2020, India dominated the global market on the purchasing side, accounting for 38% of the worldwide import share with an import value of USD 171M and 31K MT of import quantity. This was followed by The UAE (7%) with an import value of USD32M and 7.8K MT of import quantity, Singapore (4%) with a value of USD 18M and 4K MT, Bangladesh (4%) with a value of USD 18M and 4K MT, lastly the United States (3.4%) with USD 15M and 2.3K MT.

In 2020, Indonesia dominated the exporting side of the trade for clove, with an export value of USD 176M and held 34% of the global export share. This was followed by Madagascar, which held 12% of the worldwide export share and USD 63M of export value, Singapore (5%) with USD 26M, Brazil (4%) with USD 19M, and Sri Lanka (3%) with USD 17M.

- Brazil

The packaging is done following the characteristics and requirements needed by the buyer (Vitaspice);

If the package is opaque, dry, and hermetically closed, it can have a shelf life of 2 to 3 years (AE).

- Tanzania

Cloves can be packaged in polythene bags of various sizes according to the market demand. The bags should be sealed to prevent moisture from entering. Sealing machines can be used to seal the bags.

- India

Plastic pouch bags of 5 KG, 10 KG, 20 KG up to 200 KG

Polypropylene bags of sizes from 5 KG to 100 KG

Gunny bags and jute bags (as per the requirement of customer and destination)

- Indonesia

Plastic Pouch: In the market, clove can be found in a plastic pouch at the size of 200 grams.

Gunny Sack: In bulk, clove can be packed and gunny sack with the smallest size being 20 kg and the biggest at 60 kg. 

- Surrounding Environments

The clove’s quality can be affected by the surrounding environment where the clove is handled after the harvesting.

- Soil Condition

Clove requires low acidity of soil to be planted in. The soil also needs to be fertilized twice a year at most. Otherwise, too much fertilization can compromise the quality of clove.

- The weather

Weather, more specifically rainfall, can positively affect the quality of clove. The higher rain will reduce the quality of clove when harvested.

- Processing Time

The clove’s processing time, especially drying, needs to be watched and monitored properly to ensure high-quality clove production. The clove should not be exposed to heat longer than the recommended time.

- Storage Method

The harvested clove needs to be stored properly at the right temperature. High humidity or dampness will reduce the quality of the clove.

- Retention Time

After the harvest, the clove must be distributed or used immediately to ensure that the clove is still in its prime condition. Keeping the clove in storage for too long will decrease the quality. 

- Production Capacity

The production capacity of the major producing countries is essential to ensure the clove’s price stability.

- Production Cost

Production cost can have a direct impact on the price of clove. The production cost is usually associated with labor cost, transportation, and land maintenance.

- Market Demand

Demand can come from all aspects where clove as main ingredients are needed, such as the food industry, cigarette industry, cosmetics, and pharmacy.

- Political Stability and Government Regulation

Different government policies can affect the price of clove. This revolves around export regulation and internal support and initiative to leverage the production. 

The world’s annual production of cloves between 2004-2018 was 167.5K MT (metric tons). For five years (2014-2018), the production growth rate was +16.9%, but there’s a decline of 8.4% in the three years (2016-2018) and -2.1% of growth rate for one year until 2018 was +2.6%. Indonesia was the largest producer in 2018, having contributed about 73.7% of the world’s production. This was followed by Madagascar (13.9%), Tanzania (5.4%), and Sri Lanka (3.3%).