Seeds ExporterCress (Garden Cress / Halim) Seed exporter — Pakistan origin
Garden cress seed (Lepidium sativum, halim or aliv in South Asia, Kresse in Germany) is exported by Kohenoor International in a food-grade sprouting lot and a sowing grade at 99% purity and 90% germination, HS 120991, in 25 kg bags. The crop is sown October–February in Punjab and Sindh and harvested March–April.
Cress is the fastest sprouting seed in the trade: radicles show within 24 hours and a microgreen mat is ready in 5–7 days. Sprout growers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK, microgreen producers in Japan and Korea, and health-food packers in the Gulf and India buy it, and it is the peppery line in most EU sprout mixes alongside alfalfa and fenugreek.
Quick answer
Specification
Standard export specification for cress (garden cress / halim) seed, as it appears on the pro forma invoice and the lot report. Custom specifications (higher purity, treated seed, different pack, private label) are quoted on request.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Lepidium sativum |
| HS code | 120991 |
| Varieties / grades | Food grade, Sowing grade |
| Purity | 99% min |
| Germination | 90% min |
| Grades | Food grade (sprouting), sowing grade |
| Moisture | 9% max |
| Inert matter | 0.5% max |
| Other crop seed | 0.2% max |
| Weed seed | 0.2% max (nil brassica weed seed) |
| Dodder | Nil |
| Thousand-seed weight | 2.2–2.6 g (approx. 400,000 seeds/kg) |
| Colour / appearance | Uniform reddish-brown, oval, mucilaginous when wet |
| Germination energy | 80% min radicle emergence at 24 h, 20 °C |
| Salmonella spp. (25 g) | Absent (food grade, per lot) |
| E. coli O157:H7 (25 g) | Absent (food grade, per lot) |
| Total aerobic count | Reported per lot (food grade) |
| Seed treatment | None |
| Sowing rate (field) | 8–10 kg/ha |
| Packing | 25 kg |
| MOQ | 1 x 20ft (smaller lots possible) |
| Origin | Pakistan (Sindh / Punjab unless stated) |
Varieties and grades
Food grade (sprouting). Mature, uniform reddish-brown seed from fields selected for low brassica-weed pressure, harvested at full maturity, double-cleaned on Sortex to 99% purity with 0.2% max weed seed and nil brassica weeds (wild mustard and charlock look similar and are the main contaminant risk), 90% germination, untreated, and tested for Salmonella and E. coli O157 on every lot. Sprout and microgreen growers choose it because a whole tray is eaten within a week, so pathogen absence, uniform 24-hour germination and freedom from weed seedlings all matter. Health-food packers in the Gulf and India buy the same grade for halim, roasted-seed mixes and iron and lactation products.
Sowing grade. The same seed at 99% purity and 90% germination with an ISTA-format report but without the microbial panel, for salad-cress and green-halim growers and for spice-seed production in Central Asia, Iran and the Gulf. It is priced below food grade.
We supply plain garden cress only; watercress (Nasturtium officinale) and upland cress (Barbarea) are different species and not offered.
Uses by industry
Who buys cress (garden cress / halim) seed from Pakistan and what they do with it.
- Sprout and microgreen growers. Peppery sprouts and 5–7 day microgreen mats for retail punnets and food service in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Japan and Korea; the fastest line in a sprout programme.
- Health-food and nutraceutical packers. Halim (aliv) seed for iron, folate and lactation products, halim ladoo and roasted-seed mixes in India and the Gulf; sold on the COA.
- Spice and condiment makers. Whole seed in pickles, chutneys and spice blends; ground as a peppery condiment.
- Salad-cress growers. Sowing grade for punnet cress grown on paper or coir in the UK and northern Europe.
- Field growers. Green halim leaf and seed production in Central Asia, Iran and the Gulf from sowing grade.
- Bird-seed and pet-food blenders. Lower-grade lots for seed mixes; not offered as food grade.
Quality control and testing
Every lot of cress (garden cress / halim) seed offered for export is tested in Kohenoor's own laboratory in Hyderabad to the ISTA International Rules: a submitted sample of at least 1 kg drawn with a stick trier from a minimum of 10% of bags, purity analysis by species on a working sample (pure seed, other crop seed, weed seed and inert matter by weight), germination on 4 x 100 seeds in a controlled chamber for the prescribed period, moisture by the oven method and a thousand-seed weight. Forage legumes and small-seeded grasses also get a separate 500 g count for dodder (Cuscuta spp.) and other quarantine weed seed, which is the item most import permits ask about. Results go on an ISTA-format report with the lot number that appears on the bag labels, packing list and phytosanitary certificate.
Before the lab sees the lot it has been through air-screen cleaning, a gravity table and Buhler Sortex optical sorting, which removes off-colour, immature and weed seed that sieving cannot. A lot that misses the specification is re-sorted or dropped from export; it is never blended up. Prior-crop lots are re-tested before dispatch and no container leaves on a report older than 90 days.
For cress the laboratory runs an ISTA 6-day germination at 20 °C plus a 24-hour radicle-emergence count, a specific brassica-weed screen under magnification (wild mustard, charlock and shepherd's purse seed are close in size and colour), and, for food grade, sends a 25 g composite from each lot to the accredited laboratory for Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7 and total aerobic count, with Listeria or a STEC panel available for buyers whose approval scheme requires it. Because cress seed becomes mucilaginous when wet, moisture is held at 9% and bags are lined; a wet bag is rejected at intake.
How to verify on arrival. Draw a composite sample from at least 10 bags with a trier, seal and label it with the lot number, and test within 14 days at your NPPO or any ISTA-accredited station. Compare against the report using the ISTA tolerance tables (about 6 percentage points between two 400-seed germination tests at the 85% level, 0.5–1.0 points for purity at 99%). If a result falls outside tolerance, send the report and the sealed bag labels within 30 days; we re-test the 1 kg reference sample we keep from every lot for 12 months and settle any confirmed difference by price adjustment or replacement.
Packing, loading and shipping
Standard packing for cress (garden cress / halim) seed is 25 kg, in woven polypropylene bags with an inner polyethylene liner. Each pack is printed or labelled with product, variety or grade, lot number, net weight, origin (Pakistan), exporter and any text the importing country's labelling rules require, and closed with a sewn tear-off tag. Private-label printing is available with artwork two weeks before loading.
A 20ft container carries about 18–20 MT (about 720 x 25 kg per 20ft) loose-stacked on a kraft-paper floor in a brick pattern with a cardboard door wall; a 40ft carries about 26 MT. Palletised loads on ISPM 15 heat-treated pallets take roughly 10% less and are used for Europe, East Asia, North America and Australia where the container is unloaded by forklift. Desiccant bags are added for humid destinations on request. Every stuffing is photographed from empty box to applied seal and the photos go to the buyer the same day with the packing list. Full figures for every product are in the container loading guide.
Storage and shelf life. Cress seed at 9% moisture in sealed lined bags holds 90% germination for 18–24 months below 20 °C; sprouting-grade buyers should re-test quarterly and use stock within a year for uniform 24-hour emergence. Keep bags dry: any moisture uptake starts mucilage formation in the bag.
| Container | Net cargo | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 18–20 MT | about 720 x 25 kg per 20ft; loose on kraft-paper floor |
| 40ft / 40ft HC | 26 MT | Weight-limited on dense seed; volume-limited on light seed |
| Palletised (any size) | ≈ 10% less | ISPM 15 pallets, shrink-wrapped and strapped |
| LCL / air | 1 MT sprouting grade; 5 MT sowing grade | Higher per-kg rate; used for trial lots |
Documents and import compliance
Every container of cress (garden cress / halim) seed leaves with the phytosanitary certificate from the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) Karachi carrying the importer's additional-declaration wording, a certificate of origin from the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce, the ISTA-format purity and germination report, commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, plus a fumigation certificate and pre-shipment inspection report where the destination requires them. The table lists what the main destinations for this product ask for; the documents guide explains each certificate and the import guide shows the sequence.
| Country | Authority | Documents required | Transit from Karachi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | BVL / EU | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; EU TRACES CHED-PP; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 22–26 days sea |
| France | DGAL / EU | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; EU TRACES CHED-PP; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 20–25 days sea |
| Netherlands | NVWA / EU | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; EU TRACES CHED-PP; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 22–26 days sea |
| United Kingdom | APHA / DEFRA | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; IPAFFS pre-notification; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 22–26 days sea |
| Poland | PIORiN / EU | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; EU TRACES CHED-PP; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 24–28 days sea |
| Japan | MAFF Plant Protection | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 22–28 days sea |
| South Korea | APQA | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; Import declaration; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 20–25 days sea |
| United Arab Emirates | MOCCAE | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; ISTA test report; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 7–10 days sea from Karachi |
| Saudi Arabia | MEWA / SFDA | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; SABER registration where applicable; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 8–12 days sea |
| India | PPQS | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; Import permit (PQ Order); commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 3–6 days sea |
HS classification. Cress seed is HS 1209.91 (vegetable seeds for sowing). In the EU and UK, cress for sprouting is treated as seed for sowing: a phytosanitary certificate and CHED-PP (EU) or IPAFFS (UK) pre-notification are required, and the sprout producer must be approved under Regulation (EU) 210/2013 with seed meeting 209/2013 criteria. Japan (MAFF) and Korea (APQA) clear on the phytosanitary certificate with a food-sanitation notification for sprouting use; the Gulf and India (PQ Order permit) treat it as seed. Duty is zero in the EU, UK, Japan and the Gulf for seed for sowing.
Season, new crop and availability
Sown October–February in Punjab and Sindh, harvested March–April; new-crop seed ships from May after drying, double cleaning and a 6-day germination test, and food-grade lots from early June once the microbial results are back. Prior-crop stock is available December–April, re-tested, and stated as such.
EU sprout growers usually reserve a single lot for the year in June for consistency; health-food packers buy through the year. Reserve new-crop food grade by February.
The availability calendar shows every product month by month, and prior-crop lots are always described as such on the pro forma.
Price factors and how to get today's rate
Kohenoor does not publish a price for cress (garden cress / halim) seed because a price is only meaningful for a specific lot, grade, pack, quantity and date. A firm FOB Karachi or CIF quote in USD per kg or per MT comes back within 24 hours of an enquiry and is held for 7–14 days. What moves the number, in order of size:
- Crop year and timing. Pre-harvest bookings are fixed and usually lowest; spot prices rise in a short crop or when prior-crop stock runs down before new crop. Difference between the two can be 15–20%.
- Grade and purity. Food grade is priced above sowing grade for double cleaning and the pathogen panel on every lot; the 1 MT LCL rate is higher per kg than a container. Cress is among the lower-priced sprouting seeds per kg but sows at 400,000 seeds per kg, so cost per tray is low.
- Packing. 25 kg loose bags are the base; 50 kg is slightly cheaper per kg; 10 kg, cartons, private label and palletising add 2–8%.
- Quantity. Each additional container in one contract is priced 2–5% lower; LCL lots cost 20–40% more per kg because inspection, documents and handling are the same for 2 MT as for 20 MT.
- Incoterm. FOB Karachi is the base; CIF adds freight and insurance at the current line rate for your port; road delivery to Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia is priced per truck.
- Tests and treatment. Third-party COA, residue or aflatoxin panels, SGS inspection, fumigation and seed treatment are itemised at cost.
Samples. 200 g to 1 kg from the offered lot is free against courier charges (typically USD 40–90) and goes out with the current report. Larger trial lots are invoiced at the container rate. The full logic, MOQ table and sample policy are on seed prices and MOQ.
How this compares
Sprout growers run cress alongside alfalfa and fenugreek; cress is the fastest and most peppery, alfalfa the mild high-volume line, fenugreek the bitter line.
| Criterion | Cress (Garden Cress / Halim) Seed | <a href="/products/alfalfa-sprouting/">Sprouting Alfalfa Seed (food grade)</a> | <a href="/products/fenugreek/">Fenugreek Seed</a> |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout type | Peppery microgreen, 24 h emergence, 5–7 days | Mild, 5–6 day cycle | Bitter, 4–5 day cycle |
| Purity / germination | 99% / 90% | 99.5% / 90% | 99.5% / 90% |
| Seeds per kg | ≈ 400,000 | 440,000–480,000 | ≈ 60,000 |
| Weed-seed risk | Brassica weeds (screened) | Dodder (nil) | Low |
| MOQ | 1 MT | 500 kg | 1 MT |
| New crop | May (food grade June) | July | June |
| Also sold as | Halim health food, spice | Forage seed | Spice, extraction |
Markets served
Kohenoor has shipped cress (garden cress / halim) seed to Germany, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Poland, Japan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India. Demand comes from sprout and microgreen growers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Japan and Korea, and from health-food packers in the Gulf and India buying halim seed on the COA. Each destination has its own permit and phytosanitary wording; the country pages under markets summarise them and we prepare the certificate to match before DPP inspection.
Specialist site and further reading
Detailed agronomy, variety trials and technical downloads for cress (garden cress / halim) seed are published on our specialist site herbnseed.com. Variety-level agronomy (sowing rate, cutting schedule, seed standards, trial data) is on our reference site worldseed.net: garden cress. For pricing, MOQ and shipping use the quote form on this page; the lab and sorting line are described on the quality page, and all 28 lines are listed under products.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pakistani garden cress seed suitable for sprouting?
Yes. The food-grade lot is double-cleaned to 99% purity with nil brassica weed seed, 90% germination, untreated, and tested for Salmonella and E. coli O157 (absent in 25 g) on every lot. Radicles emerge within 24 hours and a microgreen mat is ready in 5–7 days.
What is halim or aliv seed?
Halim (Hindi/Urdu) and aliv (Marathi) are the South Asian names for garden cress seed, Lepidium sativum, eaten as a health food for iron and folate and in lactation products and halim ladoo. It is the same seed we supply as food grade.
What is the MOQ for cress seed?
One 20ft container (18–20 MT) for sowing grade; 1 MT by LCL or air for food-grade sprouting seed, which is how most EU and Japanese growers start.
Does cress need a phytosanitary certificate in the EU?
Yes. Cress for sprouting is imported as seed for sowing under HS 120991 with a DPP phytosanitary certificate and a CHED-PP pre-notification in TRACES, and the sprout producer must be approved under Regulation (EU) 210/2013. We supply the wording and the microbial COA.
How fast does cress germinate?
Radicle emergence starts within 24 hours at 20 °C (we require 80% at 24 hours on the energy test) and final germination is read at 6 days per ISTA. Microgreens are cut at 5–7 days; salad cress in punnets at 7–10 days.
Why does cress seed become slimy when wet?
The seed coat contains mucilage that swells into a gel on contact with water, like basil seed. It helps the seed stick to mats and paper for microgreen growing, but it means bags must stay dry in storage; moisture is held at 9% and bags are lined.
Is your cress seed free of wild mustard and charlock?
Yes. Brassica weed seed is the main contaminant risk in cress and is screened under magnification in the laboratory on every lot; food grade carries 0.2% max total weed seed with nil brassica weeds.
How much cress seed fits in a 20ft container?
18–20 MT in 25 kg lined bags loose-stacked (720–800 bags); 16–18 MT palletised. A 40ft carries 26 MT. Most sprouting buyers ship 1–5 MT by LCL.
When is new-crop cress seed available?
From May after the March–April harvest and cleaning; food-grade lots from early June once microbial results are back. Prior-crop stock is available December–April, re-tested.
What sowing rate do you recommend for field cress?
8–10 kg/ha drilled at 0.5–1 cm in October–February for green halim or seed production; for microgreens, 25–35 g of seed per 25 x 50 cm tray on a moist mat.
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