North Maluku · Maluku
North Maluku cloves
Moloku Kie Raha means the four kingdoms of Maluku, the sultanates of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. Cloves grew here and nowhere else before the trade spread them, and the registered origin still carries that name.
A protected name.
Cengkeh Moloku Kie Raha
IG.00.2015.0000181
Registered for North Maluku under the historical name for the island group rather than the modern province name.
What makes it different.
- The original range
- Clove trees are native to these islands. Everything grown anywhere else descends from material taken out of here.
- Volcanic island smallholdings
- Steep volcanic islands with small plots, so collection runs through many hands before a lot reaches a port.
- Long logistics
- Ternate is well connected by Indonesian standards for the region, and cargo still moves by inter-island vessel before reaching a container port.
- Drying under rain
- The islands are wet, and cloves dried under intermittent rain arrive with high moisture and the mould problems that follow.
What we source here.
Indonesian cloves
Indonesia grows more cloves than anyone and still imports them, because the domestic cigarette industry takes the crop. What that means for a spice buyer.
Indonesian clove leaf oil
The difference between leaf, bud and stem oils, why eugenol content is the contract term, and the documents an Indonesian shipment needs.
Indonesian nutmeg and mace
The seed and the red lace around it are separate spices at separate prices. What to specify, and the aflatoxin question behind European entry.
Export documents, by category
Four categories, four different sets of paperwork and almost no overlap. Built from the reference pages, so it cannot fall behind what is published.
Container loading and what actually fits
The cubic capacity figures in circulation disagree with each other. What really decides a load is weight, geometry and the carrier's own specification.
Questions buyers ask.
Does the historical origin mean better cloves?
It means the trees are native here and the growing knowledge is old. It does not settle what is in a particular lot. Drying and moisture decide that, and on wet volcanic islands with long transport those are the things to inspect.
Why is the registration under an old name?
Moloku Kie Raha is the historical name for the four sultanates of the island group, and it is the name the growers use for themselves. The register follows the local usage, which is worth knowing when you search for it and find nothing under North Maluku.
How long does shipping take from here?
Longer than most buyers assume. Cargo goes by inter-island vessel before it reaches a container port, so there is a domestic leg with its own schedule before the ocean leg begins. Build that into the lead time rather than discovering it later.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Worth reading.
Buying from North Maluku?
Tell us the specification and the port. We go to the region, look at the material and put the documents together before anyone quotes a price.
Sources
- 1Register of protected geographical indications. Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual, Republic of Indonesia. Checked 5 August 2026.