For Sri Lankan spice growers, peelers & small processors

Become a Sri Lankan Spice Exporter

You grow and dry the spice. We help you grade it to standard, reach real overseas buyers, and handle the export side: compliance, consolidation, shipping and getting paid in foreign currency. Starting with cinnamon, pepper and cardamom.

Join the founding cohort →
This is a founding-cohort pilot. We’re opening the Sri Lankan spice exporter program now and onboarding our first group of producers, beginning with cinnamon, pepper and cardamom. Register your interest and we’ll be in touch as the pilot opens. This is an invitation to join early, not an instant signup.

Start with your spice

Each spice has its own grade ladder. Measure what you have with the free calculator for your spice. It tells you the grade, whether it’s export-ready, and how to grade up. That’s step one of the ladder below.

Cinnamon

Graded by quill diameter

Alba, C5, C4, Mexican, Hamburg, thinner quills grade higher. Measure your diameter and moisture.

Grade calculatorCinnamon program

Black pepper

Graded by bulk density

MG1 and up, denser, cleaned (garbled) berries grade higher. Measure your bulk density and moisture.

Grade calculator

Cardamom

Graded by pod size & color

AGEB, AGB, AGS, larger, deep-green pods grade higher. Measure your pod size and check the color.

Grade calculator

Why most smallholders never export: and what we change

Sri Lanka grows some of the world’s finest spices, but most of it leaves the hands of smallholders and small processors long before it reaches an overseas buyer. That’s rarely about price alone. Exporting directly means meeting food-safety and quality standards, grading consistently, gathering enough volume to fill an order, finding and trusting a buyer abroad, completing export paperwork, and getting paid in foreign currency. Each step on its own is manageable; together they’re a wall.

That wall, the conversion layer between a good spice and a completed export, is exactly what this program is built to carry for you. You keep doing what you do best: producing good spice. We help with the rest, and you stay the producer the whole way through.

The path from grower to exporter

The program is a ladder. You move up at your own pace, using free tools at each step, and we help where it counts.

  • Free · start here

    Register your producer profile

    Create a free profile telling us which spice you grow or process, roughly how much, and where you are. No cost, no commitment. It simply puts you on the map for the pilot.

    Register your interest →
  • Self-serve

    Become an organized supplier

    Get a clear picture of where you stand. Work through the export-readiness checklist, and use your spice’s grade calculator to classify what you have, so you know exactly what you’re selling and what it’s roughly worth.

    You do: self-assess readiness · measure and classify your grade
    Export readiness checklistCinnamonPepperCardamom
  • We help

    Reach export-ready

    This is where we step in. We help you get a sample reviewed for grade and quality, and walk you through the compliance basics, the documents, drying and food-safety practices a buyer will expect. We coordinate the testing and certification with accredited labs; we don’t issue certificates ourselves.

    We help with: sample quality review · compliance setup · arranging testing & certification
    Trade complianceCertifications & standardsExport documents
  • Export

    Ship to a real buyer

    When an overseas buyer’s requirement matches your grade and volume, we bring it to you. Where one producer can’t fill an order alone, we consolidate with other producers in the cohort, coordinate certification and shipping out of Colombo, and you’re paid in foreign currency on agreed terms. You see the price and terms before you commit to anything.

    We coordinate: buyer matching · consolidation · certification & shipping · USD payment
    See live buyer requirements

Who does what

You, the producerUs (SriLankaExport / Harker International)
Grow, process and dry your spice to a consistent grade and moistureHelp you classify the grade and reach the quality a buyer expects
Keep honest records of what you have and can supplyMatch you to real overseas buyer requirements already in our network
Meet the food-safety and drying practices we walk you throughCoordinate sample QC, arrange lab testing and certification, prepare export documents
Agree the price and terms before each orderConsolidate volume, arrange shipping from Colombo, and settle payment to you in foreign currency

How it works commercially: in plain terms

It is free to join and free to use the tools. There is no fee to register and no charge for the checklist, grade calculators or guidance. On a completed export order, we earn a transparent margin or commission for carrying the export side, and you always see the price and your share before you agree to anything. You remain the producer and the owner of your goods until an order is agreed; we act as your export partner, not a buyer taking your stock off you at the farm gate.

We’re honest about stage: this is a founding-cohort pilot, so the program is opening rather than running at scale. Early producers help us prove the path end-to-end, and get first access to the buyers we match.

Join the founding cohort

Register your interest and tell us which spice you produce. We’ll be in touch as the pilot opens to begin working with our first producers.

Register your interest →

Have questions first? Talk to our Trade Desk.

Frequently asked questions

Which spices does the program cover?

It’s opening with cinnamon, pepper and cardamom, the spices with a clear grade you can measure yourself and steady overseas demand. We expect to add more Ceylon spices as the pilot proves out. Each covered spice has its own free grade calculator.

Do I need to be a registered exporter to join?

No. The program is built for growers, processors and small peelers who are not exporting yet. EDB exporter registration is voluntary in Sri Lanka, and we walk you through the registrations and documents that actually matter for your situation as you move up the ladder.

How much spice do I need to take part?

There’s no fixed minimum to register or use the tools. Export orders do have volumes, but a big part of what we do is consolidate several producers’ spice to fill an order, so you don’t have to fill a container on your own.

What does it cost?

Joining and the tools are free. On a completed export order we earn a transparent margin or commission for handling the export side, and you see the price and your share before you agree. You’re never charged to register or to get guidance.

When does the pilot start?

We’re onboarding the first producers now. Register your interest and we’ll contact you as we open the pilot in your area, starting in the spice-growing belt of the south and the hill country.