Frequently asked
What is the difference between Singapore quality and European quality fennel?
Singapore quality is the higher-grade tier — uniform green-bright color, volatile oil ≥ 1.8%, foreign matter ≤ 1%, mostly used for premium spice and pharma extract. European quality is the standard commercial tier — green-yellow color, volatile oil ≥ 1.5%, foreign matter ≤ 2%, used for spice industry and food-service. Singapore quality commands 30-50% premium over European quality. Both grades are sortex-cleanable on order.
What are typical specifications?
Moisture ≤ 9%, volatile oil ≥ 1.5% (≥ 1.8% for Singapore quality), foreign matter ≤ 2%, color: green to greenish-yellow, broken seeds ≤ 5%, essential oil composition: anethole 60-75%, fenchone 7-15%, estragole 3-7%. Lab COA per shipment. AOAC test methods.
Where does your fennel come from?
Punjab, Pakistan — primarily Faisalabad, Multan, and Bahawalpur districts. Fennel grows in cool dry winter (Nov-Feb), harvested March-April. Punjab fennel is well-regarded globally for its essential oil composition (high anethole) and uniform green color when sortex-cleaned.
What HS code does fennel use?
HS 0909.61 for unground fennel seeds (most common). HS 0909.62 for crushed/ground fennel. Some destinations use 0909.50/0909.60 (legacy codes) — check with your destination customs broker for current applicable code.
Who buys fennel from you?
Spice industry (food-service blenders, retail spice brands), mouth-freshener manufacturers (sweet-fennel candy, supari, paan masala — large category in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, GCC South Asian diaspora), herbal tea blenders (fennel tea premium retail), pharmaceutical extract manufacturers (anethole + fenchone for digestive remedies), essential oil distillers (steam-distilled fennel oil for flavor + fragrance industries).
Do you offer fennel essential oil?
Yes — through partner distillers we coordinate steam-distilled fennel essential oil. Anethole 60-75%, fenchone 7-15%. 5-50 kg drums, food-grade or perfumery-grade. Lead time 21-35 days for batch distillation. We do not run our own distillation; we coordinate sourcing.
What is the MOQ?
1 MT for first orders. Standard FCL 14-15 MT (20ft) / 24-26 MT (40ft). Fennel ships in 25kg or 50kg PP woven bags with LDPE liner. For mixed-product container loads (fennel + cumin + fenugreek + black seed) we accept 200 kg minimum per SKU.
How long is shipping to typical destinations?
Karachi → UAE 3-5 days, Karachi → Saudi Jeddah 5-7 days, Karachi → Bangladesh Chittagong 7-10 days, Karachi → Indonesia 14-18 days, Karachi → Turkey 14-20 days, Karachi → USA East Coast 28-35 days, Karachi → EU Hamburg 22-28 days. Add 2-4 days for documentation and customs at origin.
Do you offer mouth-freshener grade fennel?
Yes — sweet fennel for mouth-freshener applications (sugar-coated, syrup-coated, or plain candied) is a separate SKU. We supply raw whole fennel; sugar-coating is buyer's processing step. Some buyers source from us for the underlying fennel + use Indian sugar/flavor coatings; others coordinate full sweet-fennel production via our partner facilities.
What payment terms work for fennel orders?
Standard: 30% TT + 70% against scanned BL. Repeat buyers: LC at sight. Tier-1 buyers (large food-service blenders): LC 30 days from BL. Sample orders: 100% advance via wire. Trade Assurance via Alibaba accepted.
Can you supply organic-certified fennel?
USDA Organic and EU Organic certified fennel from Pakistan is limited but available through partner farms with standing organic certification. Premium ~25-40% over conventional. Lead time 14-21 days additional for organic-cert documentation. Conventional Pakistani fennel is the larger commercial supply; we recommend conventional + pesticide-residue testing as the cost-effective alternative for most buyers.
Do you supply private-label retail SKUs?
Yes — bulk private label printing on 25kg/50kg bags (no extra cost above 5 MT) and retail-pack production (100g-1kg pouches/jars/shakers, lead time 14-21 days from artwork approval). Common retail formats: 100g/250g whole-fennel pouches for spice retail, 50g/100g sweet-fennel candy boxes for mouth-freshener retail, 200g pouches for fennel-tea blends.