Seeds ExporterFennel Seed exporter — Pakistan origin
Fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare, saunf) is exported by Kohenoor International in bold green, machine-clean and Sortex grades at 99% purity, HS 090961, in 25 kg or 50 kg bags. The crop is sown October–November in Punjab and Sindh, harvested March–April, and ships to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the US, the UK, Germany, Brazil and Malaysia.
Bold green fennel is graded on colour and seed size for whole-spice and mouth-freshener use; machine-clean and Sortex grades go to grinders, tea blenders and extractors, who buy on volatile oil (1.5–3%, anethole-rich). It ships with a certificate of analysis and, for the EU, UK and US, pesticide and aflatoxin results.
Quick answer
Specification
Standard export specification for fennel 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 | Foeniculum vulgare |
| HS code | 090961 |
| Varieties / grades | Bold green, Machine clean, Sortex |
| Purity | 99% min |
| Germination | Not tested — edible / industrial grade |
| Grades | Bold green, machine clean (99%), Sortex (99.5%) |
| Moisture | 9% max |
| Volatile oil | 1.5–3% (anethole 60–80% of oil) |
| Admixture / foreign matter | 1% max (0.5% Sortex) |
| Immature / light seed | 2% max |
| Seed length (bold green) | 6–9 mm |
| Thousand-seed weight | 5–7 g bold (approx. 150,000–200,000 seeds/kg) |
| Colour / appearance | Bright green (bold green) or greenish-brown, ribbed, uniform |
| Total ash | 9% max |
| Bulk density | approx. 0.35–0.40 kg/litre |
| Aflatoxin / pesticides | Tested per lot for EU / UK / US |
| Salmonella (25 g) | Absent (on request) |
| Steam sterilisation | Available via partner |
| Packing | 25 kg / 50 kg |
| MOQ | 1 x 20ft |
| Origin | Pakistan (Sindh / Punjab unless stated) |
Varieties and grades
Bold green. Large (6–9 mm), bright-green seed harvested slightly early and shade-dried to hold colour, then Sortex-sorted by size and colour. It is the mouth-freshener and whole-spice grade for the Gulf, India-facing retail in the UK and US, and premium spice packers; colour is the price driver and fades with light and time, so it is shipped in lined bags and kept dark.
Machine clean (99%). Fully mature greenish-brown seed, de-stoned and air-screened, for grinding, spice blends and tea bags; the volume grade for Egypt, Brazil and industrial blenders. Higher volatile oil than bold green because the seed is fully ripe.
Sortex (99.5%). Machine-clean seed optically sorted to remove stems, stones and discoloured seed for retail packers and extractors; the grade EU and US buyers with a visual specification take. All grades can be steam-sterilised for buyers with microbial limits, and each can be cut or ground to order through a partner facility.
Uses by industry
Who buys fennel seed from Pakistan and what they do with it.
- Whole-spice and mouth-freshener packers. Bold green fennel for saunf, sugar-coated fennel and retail spice packs in the Gulf, UK, US and Malaysia.
- Spice grinders and blenders. Machine-clean and Sortex for ground fennel, five-spice, panch phoron, sausage and pickling blends.
- Tea and herbal blenders. Cut fennel for digestive and infant teas in Germany, the UK and the US.
- Essential-oil and extract producers. Machine-clean fennel for fennel oil (anethole, fenchone) and oleoresin distillation.
- Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical. Fennel for carminative syrups and capsules; COA with volatile oil and residues.
- Bakery and confectionery. Whole and ground seed in breads, biscuits and sweets.
Quality control and testing
Fennel Seed is an edible or industrial product, so the release test is a certificate of analysis rather than a germination test. Our laboratory checks moisture, admixture and foreign matter, colour and size uniformity, bulk density and, where the buyer specifies it, oil content; an accredited third-party laboratory in Karachi runs microbiology (Salmonella spp., E. coli, total plate count, yeast and mould), aflatoxin B1 and total, pesticide-residue screens and, for EU and UK lots, ethylene oxide. Every lot passes Buhler Sortex optical sorting after air-screen cleaning and de-stoning, which is what takes admixture below 1% and removes discoloured seed, stems and stones.
Sampling follows the same rule as seed: at least 10% of bags, composite sample, 1 kg sealed reference retained for 12 months. The COA carries the lot number printed on the bags, and an MSDS is issued for the shipment. HACCP procedures cover the cleaning line, storage and bagging.
Fennel is released on a COA covering moisture, admixture, immature seed, seed size and colour grade, volatile oil by steam distillation and total ash; EU, UK and US lots go to an accredited laboratory for a pesticide MRL screen, aflatoxin and, on request, Salmonella and ethylene oxide, because fennel is a spice on which EU border checks focus for residues. Seed is de-stoned, air-screened, Sortex-sorted and metal-detected before bagging under HACCP; bold green is shade-dried and kept dark to hold colour.
How to verify on arrival. Take a composite sample from at least 10 bags, seal it, and send it to your usual food laboratory within 14 days. Moisture and admixture should be checked first because they are the parameters most likely to drift in transit; microbiology and residues are compared against the COA method and detection limit. If a result differs beyond method uncertainty, send the report and bag labels within 30 days and we re-test the retained reference sample at the same accredited laboratory.
Packing, loading and shipping
Standard packing for fennel seed is 25 kg / 50 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 12–14 MT (about 480 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 20–22 MT (40ft HC). 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. Fennel keeps 24 months at 9% moisture in sealed lined bags in a cool, dark store; bold-green colour fades within 6–9 months in light or heat, so keep it dark and use within a season. Volatile oil falls 10–15% a year at tropical ambient temperatures.
| Container | Net cargo | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 12–14 MT | about 480 x 25 kg per 20ft; loose on kraft-paper floor |
| 40ft / 40ft HC | 20–22 MT (40ft HC) | Weight-limited on dense seed; volume-limited on light seed |
| Palletised (any size) | ≈ 10% less | ISPM 15 pallets, shrink-wrapped and strapped |
| LCL / air | 2 MT LCL | Higher per-kg rate; used for trial lots |
Documents and import compliance
Every container of fennel 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 certificate of analysis and MSDS, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Egypt | CAPQ | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; Import permit; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 12–16 days sea |
| United States | USDA APHIS | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; APHIS import permit where required; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 30–40 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 |
| Germany | BVL / EU | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; EU TRACES CHED-PP; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 22–26 days sea |
| Brazil | MAPA Brazil | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; Import permit; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 35–45 days sea |
| Malaysia | DOA Malaysia | Phytosanitary certificate; Certificate of origin; Import permit; commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading | 10–14 days sea |
HS classification. Fennel seed is HS 0909.61 (seeds of anise, badian, caraway or fennel, neither crushed nor ground); crushed or ground fennel is 0909.62. EU and UK imports enter as food with a COA and CHED-D and the pesticide report; the US importer files FDA prior notice; Egypt requires an import permit; Brazil an import authorisation; Malaysia an import permit and phytosanitary certificate. Duty is zero in the EU (GSP+) and the US and low in the Gulf.
Season, new crop and availability
Sown October–November, harvested March–April; bold green is picked slightly early in March and shade-dried, machine-clean at full ripeness in April. New-crop fennel ships from May after drying, cleaning and Sortex sorting. Prior-crop stock is held in a cool, dark store and stated as such with its current colour and volatile-oil values.
Gulf and UK mouth-freshener packers contract bold green in May–June; grinders and tea blenders buy through the year. Reserve new-crop bold green 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 fennel 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. Bold green is the top grade and priced on colour and size, Sortex next, machine-clean lowest; steam sterilisation, cutting, pesticide and aflatoxin tests are itemised. Freight per kg is higher than for round seed because a 20ft carries only 12–14 MT.
- 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
Spice importers compare fennel with cumin and nigella from the same origin and harvest; fennel is the sweet, lower-priced line, cumin the savoury and most volatile in price, nigella the oilseed.
| Criterion | Fennel Seed | <a href="/products/cumin/">Cumin Seed</a> | <a href="/products/nigella/">Nigella (Kalonji) Seed</a> |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flavour role | Sweet, anise-like | Warm, earthy, savoury | Pungent, onion-like |
| Harvest | Mar–Apr | Mar–Apr | Mar–Apr |
| Grades | Bold green / machine clean / Sortex | Machine clean / Sortex | Machine clean / Sortex |
| Moisture std | 9% max | 9% max | 8% max |
| Oil | 1.5–3% volatile (anethole) | 2.5–4% volatile | 32–38% fixed oil |
| 20ft / 40ft HC load | 12–14 / 20–22 MT | 15–16 / 24–25 MT | 18–20 / 26 MT |
| HS | 090961 | 090931 | 120799 |
Markets served
Kohenoor has shipped fennel seed to United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Malaysia. Demand is led by mouth-freshener and spice packers in the Gulf, UK and US, grinders and tea blenders in Germany and the UK, and industrial blenders in Egypt, Brazil and Malaysia. 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 fennel 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: fennel. 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
What is bold green fennel?
Large (6–9 mm), bright-green fennel seed harvested slightly early and shade-dried to hold colour, then Sortex-sorted by size and colour. It is the mouth-freshener and whole-spice grade; colour is the price driver and it is kept dark to prevent fading.
What volatile oil content does Pakistani fennel have?
1.5–3% by steam distillation, with anethole 60–80% of the oil; machine-clean fully ripe seed is at the upper end, bold green slightly lower. The value is reported on the COA for extractors and tea blenders.
How much fennel fits in a 20ft container?
About 12–14 MT in 25 kg bags because fennel is a light, ribbed seed; a 40ft high-cube takes 20–22 MT and is the economical choice for volume buyers.
Do you test fennel for pesticides and aflatoxin?
Yes, per lot for EU, UK and US buyers at an accredited laboratory in Karachi; results go on the certificate of analysis and accompany the CHED-D. Salmonella and ethylene oxide are added on request.
Can fennel be steam-sterilised or cut?
Yes, through a partner facility: steam sterilisation for buyers with microbial limits (adds about 10 days) and tea-bag cutting or grinding to order under HS 090962. Bold green is not sterilised because heat dulls the colour.
When is new-crop fennel available?
From May after the March–April harvest, drying and Sortex sorting. Bold green sells out first and is reserved by February; prior-crop stock is available through the year with its current colour and oil values.
How does fennel compare with cumin as a purchase?
Both are harvested March–April and ship together in mixed spice containers. Fennel is sweeter, lower-priced and less volatile in price; cumin has higher volatile oil and follows the combined Indian, Turkish and Syrian market. See the comparison table above.
Which documents does the EU require for fennel?
Phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin (GSP+), COA with pesticide and aflatoxin results, packing list, invoice and bill of lading; the importer files a CHED-D in TRACES before arrival.
How should fennel be stored on arrival?
Sealed lined bags in a cool, dark store at 9% moisture; 24 months for machine-clean and Sortex, but bold-green colour fades within 6–9 months in light or heat, so use it within the season.
Can I order a mixed spice container?
Yes. Fennel, cumin, fenugreek, nigella and chillies can share one 20ft or 40ft with 2 MT minimum per product, each as a separate lot on the packing list, COA and phytosanitary certificate.
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