Why buyers source Indian peanuts
India is among the largest groundnut producers in the world, with the crop concentrated in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Two harvests a year — kharif from October, rabi from April — give a wider shipping window than most origins.
The buyers divide neatly. Snack and retail manufacturers want bold kernels on count and appearance; confectionery and roasting buyers want java; crushers and paste manufacturers want TJ material on oil content. Indian peanuts serve all three from the same belt.
What has changed over the last decade is the processing chain. Colour sorting, multiple sorting passes, blanching and vacuum packing are now routine at the export end, which is what allows Indian peanuts into markets with tight aflatoxin limits.
Aflatoxin compliance is a sorting question before it is a testing question. A supplier who cannot describe the sorting chain in detail cannot reliably hit a 4 ppb specification, whatever the certificate says.
What India offers in peanuts
Bold kernels
Large round kernels, counts of 38/42 and 40/50 per ounce, going into retail packs, snack manufacturing and roasting. Appearance and count uniformity are the price drivers.
Java kernels
Smaller and more elongated, counts of 50/60 and 60/70, favoured in confectionery, coated snacks and roasting where a uniform smaller kernel is wanted.
TJ and crushing grades
Smaller, higher-oil kernels for crushing, peanut butter and paste. Contracted on oil content and free fatty acid rather than on appearance.
Blanched, split and roasted kernels
Value-added lines produced in Gujarat, including blanched whole and split kernels, roasted kernels and peanut butter. These carry their own microbiological and shelf-life specifications.
Reference specifications for Indian peanuts
The table above is the working baseline for Indian peanuts. Count, defect limits and aflatoxin are what decide value, and the three are connected: discoloured and shrivelled kernels carry most of the aflatoxin risk, so a tight defect limit is also an aflatoxin control.
Moisture at seven per cent maximum on kernels is not a preference. Above that level the risk of mould development in a warm container rises sharply, and with it the aflatoxin figure at discharge.
Split kernel percentage matters commercially on retail grades and hardly at all on crushing grades. Specify it where it matters and leave it out where it does not, rather than imposing a uniform clause.
Specify aflatoxin at destination as well as at loading, with an agreed sampling protocol. Aflatoxin sampling variance is high, and an unspecified sampling method is the most common source of dispute on this commodity.
Aflatoxin control and food safety
Aflatoxin is produced by moulds that colonise damaged and stressed kernels, particularly where the crop was drought-stressed or dried slowly. The control chain runs from harvest timing and drying through storage, sorting and testing.
At the sorting end, the standard sequence is destoning, size grading, electronic colour sorting in multiple passes, and hand picking on premium lots. Each pass removes discoloured kernels and lowers the aflatoxin figure.
Sampling protocol matters as much as the laboratory. Aflatoxin distribution in a lot is highly uneven, so specify incremental sampling across the lot, compositing and reduction by riffle divider, and a named accredited laboratory.
Pesticide residues follow the destination’s maximum residue levels, and European buyers should name the current EU list explicitly.
Documentation for an Indian peanuts shipment
- Commercial invoice and packing list with lot numbers matching the bags
- Bill of lading or air waybill
- Certificate of origin, preferential where a trade agreement applies
- Phytosanitary certificate with the destination’s additional declarations
- Fumigation certificate stating fumigant, dose, duration and temperature
- Aflatoxin certificate with the sampling protocol stated
- Certificate of analysis covering count, moisture, defects and oil content
- Pesticide residue report from an accredited laboratory
- Non-GMO and allergen declarations as required by the buyer’s category
Exports are registered through APEDA and phytosanitary certification is issued by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage. Peanut is a declared allergen in most markets, so the exporter’s allergen management programme is worth reviewing.
Packing and shipping Indian peanuts
Indian peanuts ship as kernels in 25 kg or 50 kg jute or PP woven bags, and in vacuum packs for premium and blanched material. In-shell peanut ships in bags but loads far lighter because it is bulky.
A 20 ft container carries roughly 19 to 21 MT of kernels. Container liners and desiccants are worth specifying, because moisture pickup in transit directly raises the aflatoxin risk.
Ask for a sealed retention sample of every lot held at origin for at least six months. On aflatoxin disputes it is the only defensible reference.
Ports and routes for Indian peanuts
Most Indian peanuts ship through Mundra and Kandla, close to the Gujarat growing and processing belt, with Chennai and Tuticorin serving the southern rabi crop. Indicative transit runs eight to twelve days to Jebel Ali, fourteen to twenty days to Southeast Asia and twenty-two to thirty days to North European base ports.
Because aflatoxin risk rises with time and heat, transit planning is part of quality management on this product rather than a logistics detail.
Season and availability of Indian peanuts
Kharif groundnut is sown in June and arrives from October, principally in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Rabi groundnut is sown in January and arrives from April in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The two harvests together support shipment through most of the year.
New-crop kharif material is the largest and usually the best-priced window. Buyers with tight aflatoxin specifications generally prefer new crop, because storage adds risk on this commodity more than on most.
How Indian peanuts are priced and contracted
The price of Indian peanuts is built from the mandi pod or kernel price, shelling yield, sorting passes, packing and inland freight, and the exporter’s margin, with ocean freight and insurance added on CIF terms. Each additional sorting pass adds cost, which is why a 4 ppb specification is genuinely more expensive than a 15 ppb one.
Most contracts run FOB Mundra or Kandla with CIF on request, against an irrevocable letter of credit at sight. Agree the aflatoxin sampling protocol and the arbitration laboratory in the contract, not after a result.
How to qualify an Indian peanuts supplier
- Ask for the IEC, APEDA registration and FSSAI licence numbers and verify them independently.
- Ask how many colour sorting passes the lot will receive and whether hand picking is included.
- Ask for a pre-shipment sample drawn incrementally, with aflatoxin and count reported.
- Ask to see the allergen management and segregation programme at the processing facility.
- Ask for two references in your own market who have taken material in the last twelve months.
RNG Agro Exports holds FSSAI, APEDA and ISO 22000 certification and works with shellers and sorters in the Gujarat belt. Our Indian oilseeds guide covers the wider seed basket from the same region.
Common mistakes importers make with Indian peanuts
The first is contracting an aflatoxin number without a sampling protocol. Sampling variance, not laboratory error, drives most disputes.
The second is buying a tight specification at a loose price. Sorting passes cost money, and a 4 ppb offer at a 15 ppb price will not survive testing.
The third is ignoring moisture. It is the control on aflatoxin development in transit.
The fourth is treating count as cosmetic. On retail and snack lines, count uniformity is what the packer is buying.
Frequently asked questions about Indian peanuts
- What aflatoxin limit applies to Indian peanuts?
- It depends entirely on the destination. European food consignments are held to 4 parts per billion total aflatoxin with 2 ppb for B1; many Asian and Gulf markets accept 10 to 15 ppb; crushing grades commonly allow 20 ppb. The limit determines the sorting chain, not merely the certificate.
- What is the difference between bold, java and TJ peanuts?
- They are variety and size classes. Bold kernels are large and round, used in retail and snack. Java kernels are smaller and longer, favoured for confectionery and roasting. TJ is the smaller, higher-oil type used mainly for crushing and paste.
- Are blanched peanuts available from India?
- Yes. Blanching, splitting, roasting and paste production are all available in the Gujarat processing belt. Processed kernels often meet destination specifications more consistently than raw, because the process itself removes damaged material.
- Are Indian peanuts non-GMO?
- Yes. India has not approved genetically modified groundnut for commercial cultivation, so Indian peanuts are conventional non-GMO material. A declaration is issued with the shipping documents and can be supported by PCR testing on request.
- How much peanut loads into a container?
- Roughly 19 to 21 MT of kernels in a 20 ft container in jute or PP bags. In-shell material loads far lighter because it is bulky, so freight per kilogram is higher and the packing format should be agreed early.
- Aflatoxin is the whole commercial question. EU food buyers work to 4 ppb total, most other markets to 10 or 15 ppb, and the gap between those numbers is the gap between two different sorting chains.
- Type and count define the product: bold for retail and snack, java for confectionery and roasting, TJ for oil and paste. Name both in the contract.
- Blanching, splitting and roasting are all available in India, and processed kernels often clear destination specifications more easily than raw ones.
- Organic peanut is produced in Gujarat under NPOP, NOP and EU organic certification, but volumes are limited and need contracting ahead of the kharif harvest.
- A 20 ft container loads roughly 19 to 21 MT of kernels in jute or PP bags; in-shell material loads much lighter because it is bulky.
| Parameter | Bold kernels | Java kernels | TJ / crushing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count per ounce | 38/42, 40/50 | 50/60, 60/70 | 70/80 |
| Moisture | 7.0% max | 7.0% max | 8.0% max |
| Foreign matter | 0.1% max | 0.1% max | 0.5% max |
| Damaged / discoloured | 1.0% max | 1.0% max | 3.0% max |
| Split kernels | 2.0% max | 2.0% max | 5.0% max |
| Oil content | 44–48% | 46–50% | 48–50% |
| Aflatoxin (total) | 4–15 ppb | 4–15 ppb | 20 ppb max |
| Purity | 99.5% min | 99.5% min | 99.0% min |
Every serious peanut contract is really a contract about sorting. Colour sorters, hand picking, and blowing remove the discoloured and shrivelled kernels that carry most of the aflatoxin. Ask how many sorting passes the lot will receive, and who pays if the result misses.
| Bold Peanut Kernels 38/42 | On request | up |
| Java Peanut Kernels 50/60 | On request | up |
| Blanched Peanut Kernels | On request | up |
| TJ Kernels (Crushing) | On request | flat |
| Jun 20 | Kharif Sowing — Gujarat |
| Oct 15 | Kharif Harvest Arrivals |
| Jan 15 | Rabi Sowing — Andhra, Tamil Nadu |
| Apr 30 | Rabi Harvest Arrivals |
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