Areca
Areca nut is the seed of the areca palm, Areca catechu, a tropical palm native to South and Southeast Asia and widely cultivated across India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines. The seed is extracted from the ripe or unripe fruit, boiled or sun-dried, and traded whole, split, or sliced. It is chewed, typically wrapped in a betel leaf with slaked lime and other ingredients as a stimulant preparation known as paan or supari, and is also used as a flavoring and colorant ingredient and, historically, in traditional medicine and as a veterinary anthelmintic and textile dye source. The seed contains arecoline and related alkaloids responsible for its stimulant effect.
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Listed areca markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Price guarantee on areca
If a move in the areca price would hurt you, fix the price now. We agree it today for the months you name, and it holds whatever the market does in between.
| Buying | You use or resell areca and need to know your cost. We fix your purchase price for the quantity and months you name. |
|---|---|
| Selling | You grow, produce or hold areca and need to know your revenue. We fix your sale price ahead of production or shipment. |
| Settlement | Against delivery of the areca. |
A price is fixed only once a trader confirms it in writing. Ask the desk for a fixed price.
Caps and floors on areca
A fixed price binds buyer and seller. A cap or a floor is a guaranteed price on one side only. You pay a fee up front for it, and it is a right, not an obligation: you use it only if the market moves against you.
| Cap | For buyers. A guaranteed maximum price for areca. If the market is above the cap when you buy, you pay the cap. If it is below, you buy at the market price and let the cap lapse. |
|---|---|
| Floor | For sellers. A guaranteed minimum price for areca. If the market is below the floor when you sell, you receive the floor. If it is above, you sell at the market price and let the floor lapse. |
| Fee | Agreed and paid up front. It is the whole cost of the cap or floor, and it is not refunded if the cap or floor goes unused. |
A cap or a floor is in place only once a trader confirms it in writing. Ask the desk for a cap or a floor.
Grades
Areca nut is contracted on moisture content, on colour and processing method (raw green, boiled/cured red, or sun-dried white/chali), on whole-versus-broken and size/count sort, and on visible mould, insect damage and foreign-matter content, all measured on a drawn sample against a retained reference.
Moisture content
1 grade
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Moisture, maximumPercentage by mass | 7 percent by mass maximum under the FSSAI supari standard; higher-moisture lots are declared and priced separately. |
Processing method and colour
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Raw/greenUnprocessed, undried | Fresh nut with husk removed, not boiled or cured, high moisture, short shelf life, mainly a local/regional trade item. |
| Boiled/cured, redBoiled in water then sun-dried | Seed boiled, sometimes with catechu or other additives, then dried; reddish-brown colour, denser and harder than white. |
| Sun-dried, whiteChali, sun-dried without boiling | Whole seed dried in the sun without a boiling step; lighter colour, the form typically exported whole for the paan and grocery trade. |
Physical sort
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Whole versus broken/splitDeclared sort | Whole unbroken nuts sort separately from split or broken material; no numeric international standard, contracted by declaration. |
| Foreign matter and defective nutsPercentage by mass, maximum | Mould-affected, insect-damaged, or foreign material separated by hand and weighed against a retained reference sample. |
| Size/countNuts per kilogram, declared range | Size grading by count per unit weight, declared by the seller and verified against the sample. |
Grades outside this list trade on request. Send us the contract specification you work to and we will price against it.
Locations
| Country | Region | We trade it as |
|---|---|---|
| India | Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, West Bengal | Origin |
| Myanmar | Myanmar | Origin |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh | Origin |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Origin |
| Indonesia | Indonesia | Origin |
| United Kingdom | England | Destination |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai | Destination |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Destination |
Locations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.
Timing
Harvest is when the ripe nut is picked from the palm and processed (boiled and dried, or sun-dried) at origin. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is drying, curing, sorting and the voyage.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest Nov to Apr, arrival Dec to JunAreca nut in Northeast India (Meghalaya, Assam) and in Karnataka/Kerala is picked in two main flushes, November-December and March-April, over a roughly six-month harvest season; arrival in a destination market follows drying, curing and shipping lead time of four to eight weeks after a given picking. |
Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including carry, forward positions and stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.
Common questions
What grades of areca does SIP Global trade?
We quote 7 published grades of areca, including Moisture, maximum - Percentage by mass, Raw/green - Unprocessed, undried, Boiled/cured, red - Boiled in water then sun-dried, Sun-dried, white - Chali, sun-dried without boiling, Whole versus broken/split - Declared sort and Foreign matter and defective nuts - Percentage by mass, maximum. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is areca graded?
Areca nut is contracted on moisture content, on colour and processing method (raw green, boiled/cured red, or sun-dried white/chali), on whole-versus-broken and size/count sort, and on visible mould, insect damage and foreign-matter content, all measured on a drawn sample against a retained reference. Grading runs on 3 systems: Moisture content, Processing method and colour and Physical sort.
Where does SIP Global trade areca?
We trade areca in India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is areca harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are India: harvest nov to apr, arrival dec to jun. Harvest is when the lot is taken at origin, arrival is when a shipment from that origin lands in a consuming market. Windows outside this pattern, including carry, trade on request.
Can I fix a areca price ahead?
Yes. SIP Global fixes a areca price ahead for buyers and for sellers, as a price guarantee. Send the grade, the quantity and the months you need covered. We settle against delivery, and a price is fixed only once a trader confirms it in writing.
How do I get a price for areca?
Send the grade, the origin and the delivery window to the SIP Global desk. That is enough for a trader to come back with a level and a settlement route. 5 listed areca markets are published on this page, each with its full specification and terms. We buy and sell the physical cargo, prompt to long dated.
Standards and data sources
The grading language on this sheet follows published standards. Trade volumes and tariff lines are public record. Verify anything here against the source.
- UN Comtrade (opens in new tab)Official international trade statistics by HS code
- ITC Trade Map (opens in new tab)Bilateral trade flows and tariff data
- FAOSTAT (opens in new tab)FAO production and trade series for agricultural commodities