MOQ tiers
| Tier | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Trial | 5 MT LCL | — |
| Standard FCL | 1 × 20'FCL ≈ 24 MT | — |
| Programme | 10–60 × 20'FCL / season | — |
Castor Seeds Exporter & Wholesale Supplier — 35+ Origins, 80+ Destinations
Kehkashan exports castor (Ricinus communis) seeds from origin partners in India, Brazil, and Mozambique — supplied in bulk FCL or LCL with FOB Jebel Ali, CFR, or CIF terms to industrial castor-oil crushers and ricinoleic-acid derivative buyers across 80+ destinations.
- 35+ origins
- 80+ destinations
- ISTA / OECD certified
- LC at sight (USD/EUR)
Reference image. Sample lots and product-specific photography available on RFQ.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Ricinus communis
- Also known as
- الخروع, клещевина, mamona
- HS code
- 1207.30
- Common varieties
- GCH-2, GCH-3, GCH-4, GCH-5, GCH-6, GCH-7, DCH-32
- Origins available
- India, Brazil, Libya, Cuba
- MOQ
- 1 × 20'FCL
- Pack sizes
- 50 kg PP bag, 1 MT FIBC
- Specs
- Oil content: 46–50% (variety-dependent), Moisture: < 8%, FFA: < 2%
- Lead time
- 14–21 days from PO confirmation
- Incoterms
- FOB Jebel Ali · CFR · CIF · DAP
- Payment terms
- LC at sight · TT · DP
Specification & container math
FOB pricing bands (RFQ)
| Grade | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Indian GCH-7 (Gujarat hybrid) | RFQ — premium tier |
| Indian DCH-32 (Tamil Nadu) | RFQ — mid tier |
| Brazilian / African (Mozambique, Ethiopia) | RFQ — entry tier |
Lead times — top destinations
| Discharge port | Transit | Incoterm |
|---|---|---|
| Mundra (India, FOB) | 0 days | FOB |
| Jebel Ali (UAE) | 4–6 days | CFR / CIF |
| Hamburg (Germany) | 21–28 days | CFR / CIF |
| Houston (USA) | 28–35 days | CFR / CIF |
| Shanghai (China) | 14–18 days | CFR / CIF |
- Packaging formats
- 50 kg PP bag · 1 MT FIBC
- Container capacity
- 20'FCL: 24 MT (PP) · 22 MT (FIBC)
Documentation set per shipment
Every container leaves UAE Free Zone with the document pack below. Additional certificates (Halal, SASO conformity, BRC, organic, FairWild, etc.) are added on request before vessel loading.
- Bill of Lading (BL) — original 3/3 set
- Commercial Invoice — UAE Free Zone issued
- Packing List with lot codes
- Certificate of Origin (CoO) — Dubai Chamber attested
- Phytosanitary Certificate — origin NPPO
- SGS / Bureau Veritas weight + quality report
- Oil-content + FFA + moisture analysis (origin lab)
- GMO / Non-GMO declaration
- Fumigation Certificate
- Form A (GSP) where applicable
Gujarat, Bahia and Mozambique castor seed origins and which crusher takes which
Gujarat Banaskantha, Mehsana and Patan hybrids, shipped Mundra or Kandla, supply most Chinese, Gulf and Indian crushers on oil content alone. Brazilian Bahia and Minas Gerais smallholder seed goes to South American crushers and buyers avoiding Indian concentration. Mozambican Tete and Ethiopian Wollega wild-collected lots suit European specialty-chemistry crushers wanting a second origin.
GCH-7, DCH-32, TMV-5 and Kranti castor variety codes decoded
The prefix tells the breeder: GCH releases come from Junagadh in Gujarat, DCH from the Directorate of Oilseeds in Hyderabad, TMV from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. GCH-2 through GCH-6 are earlier Gujarat hybrids still traded at lower oil bands. Bombay-21 is an old Maharashtra selection. Kranti carries the code PCS-4 on Indian seed certificates.
Castor COA: oil content, ricinoleic acid, FFA, moisture, hydroxyl value
Every castor seed COA reports oil content by Soxhlet at 46 to 50 percent, moisture below 8 percent, FFA below 2 percent and admixture. Where the buyer crushes for derivatives we add ricinoleic acid by gas chromatography, hydroxyl value 160 to 168 mg KOH per gram and iodine value 82 to 90.
Who buys castor seed: sebacic acid plants, lubricant makers, polyol producers
Sebacic acid and undecylenic acid plants in China, the USA and the EU are the largest pull, running 5,000 to 50,000 tonne annual crush programmes on ricinoleic acid spec. Aviation hydraulic fluid and specialty lubricant makers want low FFA and stable hydroxyl value. Bio-polyurethane polyol producers are the fastest-growing segment.
Castor seed transit from Mundra and Jebel Ali to Hamburg, Shanghai, Houston
Gujarat castor loads FOB Mundra and reaches Jebel Ali in 4 to 6 days for Free Zone consolidation. Onward, Shanghai is 14 to 18 days, Hamburg and Rotterdam 21 to 28, Houston 28 to 35 and Santos 28 to 35. Bookings for whole seed declare the IMDG classification arising from residual ricin.
Castor seed FOB, CFR, CIF pricing: oil content sets the base
We quote FOB Mundra or Jebel Ali, CFR and CIF destination on RFQ. Oil content is the first price lever: each point above 48 percent commands a step, so GCH-7 sits above DCH-32. Deesa mandi rates, Gujarat monsoon outcomes, crude castor oil demand from China and ocean freight move the rest.
Castor seed QA: oil assay, sample approval, SGS-supervised loading
We courier a 2 kilogram castor sample with the origin oil and FFA assay so the crusher can run its own Soxhlet and GC check. Written approval opens the proforma against LC at sight or TT advance. Loading at Mundra or Jebel Ali runs under our supervisor with SGS or Bureau Veritas reporting.
Castor seed container math: 24 MT 20-foot FCL, 40-foot HC, LCL
A 20-foot FCL holds 22 to 24 metric tonnes of whole castor seed in 50 kilogram PP bags, or 22 tonnes in 1 tonne FIBCs. A 40-foot high-cube reaches its road-weight cap near 26 to 27 tonnes. LCL trials start at 5 tonnes. Crude oil loads 18 to 22 tonnes in 200 kilogram drums.
Castor seed import compliance for the EU, China GACC and USA
EU importers clear HS 1207.30 with the origin phytosanitary certificate, fumigation certificate and an MSDS covering ricin, and the receiving plant holds a hazardous-handling protocol. China requires GACC registration of the exporting facility and an import quarantine permit. US entries clear CBP under 1207.30 with the IMDG declaration and USDA APHIS phytosanitary inspection.
Procurement-team questions
Answers to the questions buyers ask us most often during RFQ and trial-shipment evaluation.
- GCH-7, DCH-32, or Kranti — which Indian castor variety?
- GCH-7 (Gujarat Castor Hybrid 7) is the highest-yielding and highest-oil-content Indian release — 48–50% oil, late-maturing, suited to long-season Gujarat Saurashtra and Kutch dryland. DCH-32 is the Tamil Nadu hybrid for short-season irrigated cropping — 46–48% oil. Kranti is an older open-pollinated variety, lower yield but cheaper and used for landrace re-multiplication. Spec by code on the PO.
- What is ricinoleic acid content?
- Castor oil is 87–90% ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxy-9-octadecenoic acid) — the industrial trait that makes castor irreplaceable for sebacic acid, lubricants, polyamides, and hydroxy-polymer chemistry. Specify ricinoleic acid > 85% on the COA. Indian GCH-7 typically tests 89–91%; African origins 86–89%. Lower-ricinoleic lots indicate variety mixing or moisture damage.
- How do I detoxify castor cake for animal feed?
- Raw castor cake contains ricin (lethal toxin) and ricinine (alkaloid). Detoxification by lime treatment (4% Ca(OH)2, 1 hour) or autoclaving (15 psi, 60 minutes) renders the cake safe for ruminant feed. We do not export castor cake — only crushed seed for crushers who own detoxification equipment. All castor-seed shipments include a ricin / ricinine warning sheet for personnel handling.
- Are there phytosanitary restrictions?
- Castor (Ricinus communis) is unrestricted under most NPPO regimes. Some countries (Australia, NZ) restrict importation because of biosecurity weed-risk; for those destinations we ship castor oil rather than seed. Indian-origin castor moves freely into Gulf, EU, China, Brazil, USA, and African destinations under Phytosanitary Certificate issued by Department of Agriculture, Gujarat.
- How does Brazilian castor pricing compare to Indian?
- Brazilian Bahia / Minas Gerais castor typically prices 8–12% below Indian GCH-7 because of lower oil content (46% vs 48–50%) and longer ocean route to Asian / Gulf markets. Brazilian volumes have declined since the 2010 collapse of state biodiesel-feedstock incentives. Mozambican and Ethiopian origins fill that gap for European specialty-chemistry crushers wanting non-Indian sourcing.
Related buyer guides & trade briefs
Long-form guides written by the Kehkashan trade desk for buyers and procurement teams scoping origin trade-offs, variety codes, and documentation flows.
trade brief
Castor Seeds & Oil (Ricinus communis) — Buyer's Guide 2026
Trade-desk reference for castor importers: India, Brazil, Mozambique, China, Ethiopia origin economics, hybrid variety codes, oil content, ricinoleic acid spec.
12 min readRead the guide →variety guide
Castor Seed Varieties 2026 — DCH-177, GCH-7, GCH-8 Oil + FOB
Decode GCH, DCH, TMV and Kranti castor codes — oil %, ricinoleic spec, FOB Jebel Ali pricing on RFQ. UAE Free Zone trade desk replies in 1 working day.
10 min readRead the guide →
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