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Kehkashan

Onion Seeds Exporter & Wholesale Supplier — 35+ Origins, 80+ Destinations

Kehkashan exports onion (Allium cepa) seeds from origin partners in Pakistan, India, and Egypt — supplied in bulk FCL or LCL with FOB Karachi or Jebel Ali, CFR, or CIF terms to commercial vegetable growers and seed multipliers across 80+ destinations.

  • 35+ origins
  • 80+ destinations
  • ISTA / OECD certified
  • LC at sight (USD/EUR)
Onion Seeds — Kehkashan International product photo

Reference image. Sample lots and product-specific photography available on RFQ.

Quick facts

Scientific name
Allium cepa
HS code
Common varieties
Agrifound Dark Red, Agrifound Light Red, Pusa Red, Pusa Ratnar, Pusa Madhvi, Arka Kalyan, Arka Bindu
Origins available
India, Netherlands, Pakistan, China, South Korea, Egypt, Sri Lanka
MOQ
5 kg starter, FCL volumes available
Pack sizes
500 g foil pouch, 1 kg foil pouch, 5 kg cartons
Specs
Purity: 98%, Germination: 85% min, Hybrid grade: F1 / OP
Lead time
10–18 days from PO confirmation
Incoterms
FOB Jebel Ali · CFR · CIF · DAP
Payment terms
LC at sight · TT · DP

Specification & container math

MOQ tiers

TierQuantityNote
Trial5 kg air-freight
Commercial50–500 kg LCL
Programme FCL1 × 20'FCL (palletised cartons)

FOB pricing bands (RFQ)

GradeIndicative range
OP varieties (Nasik Red, Pusa)RFQ — entry tier
F1 hybrids (Tana, Granex 55)RFQ — mid tier
Specialty F1 (Bermuda, sweet onion)RFQ — premium tier

Lead times — top destinations

Discharge portTransitIncoterm
Karachi / Mumbai (FOB)0 daysFOB
Air-freight Dubai / Riyadh1–3 daysCIP airport
Jebel Ali sea (palletised)4–6 daysCFR / CIF
Jeddah Islamic Port (KSA)8–12 daysCFR / CIF
Mombasa (Kenya)14–20 daysCFR / CIF
Packaging formats
500 g / 1 kg foil pouch · 5 kg cartons
Container capacity
20'FCL: typically air-freighted in bulk, sea for high-volume programmes

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.

  1. Air waybill or Bill of Lading
  2. Commercial Invoice — UAE Free Zone issued
  3. Packing List with lot codes per pouch
  4. Certificate of Origin (CoO) — Dubai Chamber attested
  5. Phytosanitary Certificate — origin NPPO
  6. ISTA / national seed-testing certificate
  7. Hybrid (F1) parentage declaration where applicable
  8. GMO / Non-GMO declaration
  9. Treatment / coating declaration (Thiram, Apron, etc.)
  10. Form A (GSP) where applicable

Origin × spec comparison

Onion Seeds origin comparison: variety options, fall dormancy, purity, germination, lead time, FOB Jebel Ali price.
OriginVariety optionsFall dormancyPurity %Germination %Lead time to Jebel AliFOB Jebel Ali
India10–18 daysRFQ
Netherlands10–18 daysRFQ
PakistanSargodha local · multi-cut hybrid7–998.5–99.0%85% min10–18 daysRFQ
China10–18 daysRFQ
South Korea10–18 daysRFQ
EgyptMulti-cut Egyptian · CUF 1018–1098.5–99.0%85% min10–18 daysRFQ
Sri Lanka10–18 daysRFQ

Indicative figures. Prices and lead times are confirmed at the time of RFQ.

What buyers ask us most

  • Do you supply HarvXtra alfalfa to Saudi Arabia?

    Yes — USA-origin AmeriStand 480 HarvXtra, fall-dormancy 4, ISTA-tested.

  • Can you mix Italian and Australian alfalfa on one PO?

    Yes — multi-origin consolidation at Jebel Ali is our default.

  • What's your germination guarantee?

    90 percent minimum, ISTA-tested COA per shipment.

  • Do you handle phytosanitary, COO, and fumigation?

    Yes — included in CFR, CIF, and DAP terms.

  • What's the MOQ for alfalfa seed versus alfalfa hay?

    Seed MOQ is 1 × 20'FCL (~25 MT). Hay is quoted on inquiry.

Origins we draw alfalfa from, and which buyer prefers which

Saudi Arabia dairy buyers tend to ask for USA-origin AmeriStand 480 HarvXtra and 455TQ Roundup Ready, fall-dormancy 4 to 5. Kenyan smallholder farmers and East African cooperatives prefer Italian and Argentinian fall-dormancy 6 to 8 lots. Russian feed mills source Pakistani and Argentinian alfalfa at lower entry pricing per metric tonne shipped.

What the variety codes actually mean for your field

AmeriStand 403T carries traffic-tolerance traits at fall-dormancy 4. AmeriStand 480 HarvXtra is the reduced-lignin Roundup Ready release for higher-quality dairy hay. WL 525HQ is a fall-dormancy 5 selection from the Forage Genetics International program. CW 5050 is a conventional dormancy-5 line widely used in Italy and Argentina across pivot fields.

Spec language on every alfalfa COA we ship

Every shipment carries an ISTA-format Certificate of Analysis with purity 99.0 to 99.9 percent, germination 90 percent minimum, and a dodder-free declaration. Origin lots from the United States and Australia are OECD-scheme tagged. Sortex cleaning is applied at the packing line where field admixture exceeds 0.5 percent. Hard-seed counts are reported on request.

Fall dormancy ratings 4 to 10 and how to pick the right one

Fall-dormancy 4 to 5 fits temperate Saudi central pivots, Algerian pivot circles, and southern European multi-cut systems. Fall-dormancy 6 to 7 suits Egyptian Delta rotations, Moroccan irrigated valleys, and most Kenyan smallholder programs. Fall-dormancy 8 to 10 is for year-round equatorial dairy operations in East Africa, Sudan, and tropical Latin America.

Use cases: dairy, beef, sheep, and equine forage

Saudi dairy and Gulf dairy operations use HarvXtra reduced-lignin alfalfa for higher relative-feed-value hay. Kenyan and Tanzanian smallholder beef and sheep programs run conventional fall-dormancy 6 to 8 alfalfa in mixed-rotation paddocks. Equestrian buyers in Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE specify low-dust, double-cleaned WL series lots for stable feed.

Logistics from Jebel Ali to your discharge port

From Jebel Ali, transit to Jeddah and Dammam runs 5 to 8 days. To Mombasa via the Indian Ocean it is 12 to 18 days. Aqaba is 7 to 10 days. Doha and Kuwait are 3 to 5 days. Karachi is 4 to 6 days. Beirut is 10 to 14 days. We consolidate multi-origin alfalfa lots inside one 20 foot or 40 foot container at Jebel Ali before sailing.

Pricing structure: FOB versus CFR versus CIF deltas

We quote FOB Jebel Ali, CFR destination, CIF destination, and DAP door-step on the same RFQ. The FOB-to-CFR delta covers ocean freight only. The CFR-to-CIF delta adds marine insurance at roughly 0.15 percent of invoice plus 10 percent. DAP additionally covers destination port handling, inland trucking, and customs broker handover at your door.

Quality assurance: sample, COA, buyer approval, ship

We courier a one to two kilogram alfalfa sample with a draft Certificate of Analysis. The buyer runs lab confirmation or visual inspection. After signed approval we open the proforma invoice against an LC at sight or TT advance. Container loading happens under our supervisor. Documents are released through your bank.

Buying alfalfa in 20-foot FCL versus 40-foot HC versus LCL

One 20 foot full-container load fits about 24 to 25 metric tonnes of alfalfa seed packed in 25 kilogram PP bags or 50 kilogram jute bags. A 40 foot high-cube takes 26 to 28 metric tonnes. Less-than-container shipments are accepted for trial orders down to roughly 5 metric tonnes consolidated with our Jebel Ali warehouse partner before ocean dispatch.

Documentation set we release per alfalfa shipment

A standard alfalfa export pack includes the ISTA Certificate of Analysis, Certificate of Origin issued by the Dubai Chamber, a phytosanitary certificate from the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the bill of lading, the commercial invoice and packing list, and where the destination requires it a fumigation certificate and Form A.

Sanctions, payment, and trade-finance from a UAE Free Zone

Russian feed mills and Iranian buyers benefit from neutral-jurisdiction USD or EUR LC at sight issued from our UAE Free Zone account. We screen each PO against UN, EU, US, and UK sanctions lists before confirming. TT advance and DP collection are accepted for repeat buyers. Saudi importers usually open LC through SABB or Riyad Bank.

Risk and rejection: how we handle a failed COA at destination

If a destination lab reports germination below 90 percent or purity below 99 percent, we accept a counter-sample drawn under SGS or Bureau Veritas supervision. Confirmed off-spec lots are replaced from a sister origin or refunded against the LC. We log every deviation and route the lot back through Sortex re-cleaning before any resale.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan import compliance for alfalfa

Saudi importers must clear SFDA and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture seed-import permit. Egypt requires phytosanitary inspection at Alexandria or Port Said and a CASC certificate. Jordan accepts ISTA-tagged lots through Aqaba with an MoA seed-quality clearance. We pre-stage compliance documents before container dispatch.

What changes when you order Roundup Ready alfalfa

Roundup Ready alfalfa carries a Monsanto-Forage-Genetics technology fee priced into the seed cost. Buyers sign a stewardship agreement governing replant rights and isolation distance. RR alfalfa is not permitted into the European Union or the GCC organic-certified channels. Conventional WL series and CW 5050 are the substitute lines for those buyers.

Procurement-team questions

Answers to the questions buyers ask us most often during RFQ and trial-shipment evaluation.

F1 hybrid versus open-pollinated — which to specify?
F1 hybrids (Granex 55, Tana, Nasik 53) deliver higher uniformity, predictable bulb shape and 20–30% higher yield, but seed must be re-bought every season. OP varieties (Nasik Red, Pusa Red, Agrifound Light Red) cost 60–80% less, can be farmer-saved, but yields are variable. Commercial growers serving Gulf retail typically buy F1; smallholder programmes in East Africa and South Asia buy OP.
What is the minimum germination guarantee?
Specify 85% minimum germination, 98% minimum purity, ISTA tested. We reject any lot below 80% pre-loading. Foil-pouched lots packaged within 6 months of harvest typically test 90%+ germination. Onion seed loses viability fast — never accept lots > 18 months from harvest date for commercial planting.
How is onion seed treated against soil-borne disease?
Standard treatment is thiram (50% WP) at 2 g/kg seed against Pythium / damping-off, plus Apron (metalaxyl) at 3 g/kg against downy mildew. F1 hybrid lots ship pre-treated. Organic / untreated lots are available on request for buyers running biological seed-treatment lines (Trichoderma).
Air-freight versus sea-freight?
For trial lots and small commercial volumes (under 100 kg), air-freight Karachi / Mumbai to Dubai / Riyadh in 1–3 days, CIP airport. For programme volumes, palletised sea in 25 kg cartons inside a 20'FCL, transit 4–20 days depending on destination. Seed quality is preserved equally well in both modes if temperature stays under 25 °C and RH < 60%.
How does day-length sensitivity affect variety choice?
Onion bulbing is photoperiod-sensitive. Long-day varieties (Bermuda 502, Walla Walla) need 14+ hours daylight — suit northern latitudes. Short-day varieties (Granex 55, Texas Early Grano) need 10–12 hours daylight — suit Gulf, East Africa, South India / Pakistan. Intermediate-day varieties (Tana F1) run in between. Specify by latitude / daylight band; we match.

Long-form guides written by the Kehkashan trade desk for buyers and procurement teams scoping origin trade-offs, variety codes, and documentation flows.

Quote a 20'FCL of alfalfa today

RFQ response within 24 hours. FOB Jebel Ali, CFR, CIF, or DAP. LC at sight, TT, or DP.

Request a quoteWhatsApp

Dispatch from Jebel Ali. Lead time 14–21 days. RFQ within 24h.