Why are some Indian areca plate exporters cheaper, and can an importer still make a margin?

An importer in Israel put this question to us directly. Our rates, he said, left him no margin next to other Indian exporters. It is a fair challenge, and we took it seriously, because a price that leaves the importer nothing is no good to us either.

In our experience, most of the gap between palm leaf quotes comes from the quotes not describing the same thing. One supplier may quote a mixed grade. Another may quote a shallower plate. A third may quote CIF to a port where his freight contract happens to be cheap that month. None of that is dishonest. It just means the cheapest number on the page is not always the cheapest plate in the warehouse.

Margin for an importer comes from what is left after landed cost, rejects and returns. A plate that arrives with mould spots or split edges has a cost too, and it lands on the importer, not the factory. Our guide to how much to invest in importing palm leaf plates walks through the landed-cost sum.

What is the difference between standard grade and premium grade?

Buyers use “standard” and “premium” loosely, so it helps to separate two things: the grade and the line.

Grade is about appearance only. We sort every plate that passes inspection into Premium, Economy or Domestic. Premium has an even surface, clean edges and minimal marking. Economy allows minor natural variation in grain and shade. Domestic accepts the widest variation, for programmes where price matters more than looks. All three come from the same leaf, the same press and the same drying. We do not sort by thickness, because the thickness of a leaf sheath is natural and varies across every sheath.

Line is about shape. Our Classic plates have a 3 mm rim and are 2.0 cm deep, made for dry food. Standard plates have a 5 mm rim and are 2.5 to 3.0 cm deep, for wet food and sauces. A 10 inch Classic and a 10 inch Standard are different plates, and they are priced differently. Our Classic vs Standard comparison shows the two side by side.

So a quote for “10 inch round, standard grade” can mean three or four different products. Ask which grade, which line and what depth.

What should I compare when two suppliers quote different prices?

Put the quotes in a table and fill every row for every supplier. Where a supplier cannot answer a row, that tells you something too.

How much do drying and pressing change the price?

More than most buyers expect, because they are where a factory saves time.

We dry plates to 6 to 7% moisture and never pack above that. Wetter plates can grow mould on the way, because a container spends weeks at sea in warm, humid conditions. Under-drying is faster and cheaper at the factory, and the risk moves to the importer. Our page on mould prevention in palm leaf plates explains why the moisture figure matters.

Each of our plates is pressed for 30 to 60 seconds at about 3 bar. That gives a clean shape and a firm edge. A shorter cycle gets more plates out of the same press in a day, and you see it later as soft or cracked rims.

The leaf matters too. From November to May we press fallen sheaths within 48 to 72 hours of collection. From June to October we press stored dry leaf. A supplier who does not tell you which you are getting is leaving out part of the price.

Do packing and paperwork really affect the price?

Yes. Our plates are shrink-wrapped in packs of 25 or 10 in polyolefin film, and packed in cartons of 100 or 200 pieces under 18 kg. We load floor to roof without pallets. A 40ft high cube holds about 300,000 to 350,000 pieces in a normal size mix. Change the mix towards large platters and the piece count falls while the value of the container rises.

Paperwork is a cost a buyer rarely sees on the quote. We are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified by TÜV India and BSCI audited. Our plates are tested to LFGB standards and confirmed compliant, and EN 13432 tested and passed. We hold microbiological and heavy-metal test reports and PPWR compliance documents. Certificates and reports go to buyers by email on request. Each of these costs us money every year, and each is something a retailer or a customs officer may ask an importer for.

Is FOB or CIF cheaper for palm leaf plates?

Neither is cheaper in itself. CIF adds freight and insurance to the FOB price, so a CIF quote always looks higher than the same supplier’s FOB quote. The trap is comparing one supplier’s FOB with another’s CIF, or two CIF prices booked with very different freight.

We sell FOB New Mangalore Port only, so you can compare our price with any other FOB price and book freight on your own terms. We load a container within 10 days, an industry first, and pay a 1% per day penalty if we are late. Payment is 70% deposit and 30% against documents by TT, with LC only above USD 50,000.

Do prices drop for larger volumes, and can you share a price list?

A larger, steady programme gets a better rate than a one-off container. On long-term contracts we offer price protection for up to 24 months. A one-off quote is valid for 30 days.

We do not publish a per-item price list, because the price depends on grade, line, size mix and volume. We do publish price bands, per piece, FOB New Mangalore, from Economy to Premium:

Our minimum order is one 20ft container for the Ecodyne Tableware brand or one 40ft high cube for white label, mixed sizes, with at least 200 cartons per product category. For a quote on your own mix, open a trade account.

The checklist to send every supplier

Copy these questions into one email and send the same email to every supplier on your list. Then compare the answers as closely as the prices.

1. Which grade is quoted, and is each carton a single grade?
2. Classic or Standard: what are the rim width and depth for each size?
3. What moisture do you pack at, and how is it checked?
4. How long is each plate pressed, and at what pressure?
5. Fresh fallen leaf or stored dry leaf for this order?
6. Pieces per pack, per carton, carton weight and pieces per container for my mix?
7. Which certificates, audits and test reports will you send before shipment?
8. Is the price FOB, from which port, and how long is it valid?
9. How many days from deposit to container loading, and what happens if you are late?

Our page on what to ask a palm leaf supplier goes further on audits and factory visits, and our quality control stages show where each check happens in our own process.

Sources

• International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms 2020, definitions of FOB and CIF.
• Ecodyne Tableware production standards for grading, drying, pressing and packing, as published on our quality control and Classic vs Standard pages.