Customs & Tariffs
How are the export tariff schedules of clove in major exporting countries?
Asia
1. Indonesia: Basic base VAT 1%
2. India: The rate of cess ad valorem from India is 0.5%
Global
In 2018 the average tariff for cloves was 9.79%, being the 438 lowest tariffs using the HS4 product classification. The countries with the highest import tariffs for Cloves are Cyprus(42%), Jamaica (40%), Trinidad and Tobago (37.8%), Barbados(37.2%), and Belize (36.8%). The countries with the lowest tariffs are South Africa (0%), Hong Kong (0%), Maldives (0%), Singapore (0%), and Taiwan (0%).
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Seasonality of Main Producing Regions
Where are the main clove growing regions within the major producing countries?
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.
When is the harvesting season of clove within some countries?
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.
What are some common varieties of clove in the market?
- White Clove
This type of Clove's leaves is light green (yellowish) with relatively larger leaf strands. It can grow up to 2-meters tall. When the flowers are ripe light green/white, the flower stalk is rather long, flowering ages 6-8 years. The production and quality of the flowers are relatively low.
- Kotok Clove
The leaves’ color is initially the next yellowish-green to the dark green, the surface is shiny and smooth, the shape of the leaf’s tip is slightly rounded and slender, the first branch remains alive. Hence, the title appears to be low from the ground, cylindrical head shape, or pyramid. Its growth is positively affected by the altitude of the regions where it is planted.
- Ambon Clove
Plant heads tend to be round with the blunt upper part tend to be tapered, branching at the height of 1.5 - 2 m from the ground due to the death of the main branches, leaf with a width of 2/3 times the length. The flower branches are relatively few, with less than 15 bunches. This clove has a low productivity rate and low adaptability.
- Zanzibar Clove
Zanzibar varieties have elliptical leaves with a length of 8.18±0.78 cm, a width of 3.38±0.52, leaf area of 23.30±4.30 cm2. The old leaf has a deep yellowish-green/green, shoot color moderate red/grayed red. The flower bud is a round-shaped funnel, length 1.87±0.11 cm, width 0.50±0.01, color strong pink/red. Fruit and seeds are conical. The fruit has a length of 2.24±0.09 cm, a width of 1.36±0.05 cm, the color of dark purple/purple. Seeds have a length of 1.55±0.05 cm, a diameter of 0.81±0.02 cm, a light purple/purple.
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Trade Overview
Which countries import clove the most?
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.
Which countries export clove the most?
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.
Packaging
What is the packaging method of clove within some countries?
- 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.
Quality Control/Certification
What factors can affect the quality of clove?
- 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.
What factors determine the grade classification in clove?
The specifications given by the Sri Lanka Slandered Institute is as follows:
- Cloves Handpicked
This clove grade is a minimum of 99% free from impurity, well-sorted manually with less than 10% headless, free from coco-cloves/white cloves, and almost no baby cloves.
- Cloves Grade 1
This grade is always to be allowed at least 1% of admixture, very few baby cloves, bright in color, and the percentage of headless is less than 25%.
- Cloves FAQ
This quality of cloves is of average quality with 3 to 4% admixture, tolerable, and slightly dark/bright.
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General Product Introduction
Prices for cloves
The figure above shows the price of clove using the origin from Madagascar as a sample to represent the global pricing for the months covering September-December 2020. The price has been fluctuating, with the average price at USD 7.7/KG, the highest price is USD 7.88/KG, and the lowest price is USD 7.56/KG.
And the figure below shows represents the farmgate prices of clove (a bunch of 20) in the three major market regions in Portugal (Douro, Minho, and Ribatejo, and Oeste) last reported in November 2020. The price gradually increased from June until October 2020, but there’s a decline of -8.1% in November 2020. However, the price still increased +35.0% in the last three months (September-November 2020).
What are the key factors that determine the prices of clove?
- 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.
How is the world’s production of clove?
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%).