Agriculture & food
Indonesian nutmeg and mace
Nutmeg is the seed of Myristica fragrans and mace is the red aril wrapped around it. They come from the same fruit and trade as two different spices at two different prices. Indonesia is the historic home of both, and aflatoxin is what decides European entry.
How it leaves the country.
- Whole nutmeg
- In shell or shelled, graded by count per unit weight and by whether the seeds are sound.
- Mace
- Whole blades or broken, graded largely by colour. A separate trade with its own buyers.
- Ground
- Both are ground, and grinding removes the ability to inspect for the defects that matter.
How it is graded.
Nutmeg is graded by count and soundness, mace largely by colour. Neither grading system addresses the thing that actually stops consignments, which is aflatoxin.
- Aflatoxin decides EU entry
- Nutmeg is among the spices watched most closely for it in Europe. It is a drying and storage problem and it cannot be corrected later.
- What to specify
- Count per unit weight, defect allowance, moisture, volatile oil, and the aflatoxin limit your market applies.
- Microbiology
- Whole spices carry a microbiological risk European buyers manage upstream, and steam treatment is the usual answer.1
How it is packed.
- Bags
- Jute or polypropylene at the net weight the trade works with. Nutmeg takes up damp and mould follows.
- Mace
- Handled more carefully because broken blades are worth less. Packing is part of the value here.
Where it grows.
Banda
Maluku
Where nutmeg comes from, and a name the trade still recognises.
North Sulawesi
Sulawesi
A substantial producing region supplying both spice and oil.
West Papua
Papua
A separate population of trees with its own characteristics.
Who buys this.
Choosing between this and something else.
Origins with a protected name.
Names the trade contracts on, most of them on the Indonesian register of geographical indications.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Certificate of analysis
- Moisture, volatile oil, defects and aflatoxin on the lot that shipped.
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Issued by Badan Karantina Indonesia against the destination's plant health requirements.2
- Treatment certificate
- Where the lot is steam-treated, the record travels with it.
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and on the preference scheme in force.
Questions buyers ask.
Why does aflatoxin come up so often on nutmeg?
Because the seed is dried in a humid climate and mould finds it easily. It is the recurring reason European consignments are refused, and the control is at drying and storage rather than at the port.
Is mace just a by-product?
No. It is a separate spice with its own market and it often carries a higher price than the nutmeg it came from. Selling them as a package undervalues one of them.
Whole or ground?
Whole, wherever you can grind. Grinding hides the defects that predict problems, and it makes adulteration easier. If you buy ground, buy on analysis alone.
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.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1Entering the European market for black pepper. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Badan Karantina Indonesia, the national quarantine agency. Republic of Indonesia. Checked 3 August 2026.