Dry fruits and nuts · guide
Dry fruits and nuts keep well and travel easily, which makes them attractive to first-time exporters, but the risks are quieter than for fresh produce: moisture, mould toxins, insects and rancidity. This guide covers the process in the order you will meet each step.
| Market | Imports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $26.0B | 2024 |
| China | $20.2B | 2024 |
| Germany | $13.3B | 2024 |
| Netherlands | $8.5B | 2024 |
| United Kingdom | $7.2B | 2024 |
| France | $7.0B | 2024 |
| Market | Exports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $16.4B | 2024 |
| Spain | $11.2B | 2024 |
| Mexico | $9.5B | 2024 |
| Chile | $9.3B | 2024 |
| Netherlands | $8.8B | 2024 |
| China | $7.2B | 2024 |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 08 (edible fruit and nuts). Source: UN Comtrade.
Dry fruits and nuts is not one product. Customs splits it across several headings in chapter 08, edible fruit and nuts. Heading 0801 holds coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts. Heading 0802 holds the other tree nuts, including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, macadamia and pine nuts. Heading 0804 has dates, figs and other tropical fruit. Heading 0806 covers grapes, including dried grapes as raisins under 080620. Heading 0813 covers other dried fruit such as apricots, prunes and apples, plus mixtures under 081350.
Choose one or two products for your first export. A buyer will ask for a specific nut or dried fruit, a specific grade and a specific form, in shell or shelled, whole or broken, and you cannot serve all of them credibly on day one. A note on scope: the trade figures on this site cover the whole of chapter 08, which also includes fresh fruit, so use them to locate large fruit-and-nut markets rather than to size a single nut.
Buyers and banks want to see a legal, traceable exporter. The usual registrations are a business registration, a tax registration, an exporter identification code from the foreign trade authority and a foreign-currency bank account, though the details depend on your country. Food exporters are often also expected to register with a food-safety or agricultural export body and to work with a processing facility that holds a recognised hygiene certification.
If you are a trader rather than a processor, your supplier’s facility is your reputation. Visit it, look at how it cleans, sorts, dries and stores, and ask for its lot numbering system. A buyer’s complaint will trace back to a lot, and you need the supplier to be able to trace it too.
The largest importers in chapter 08 are the United States at $26.0B, China at $20.2B, Germany at $13.3B, the Netherlands at $8.5B, the United Kingdom at $7.2B and France at $7.0B. The leading exporters are the United States at $16.4B, Spain at $11.2B, Mexico at $9.5B, Chile at $9.3B, the Netherlands at $8.8B and China at $7.2B. Two things follow. The biggest buyers are also big producers or big re-exporters, so a share of what they import is transit trade, and they are well supplied by established origins.
Customs shipment records for the specific code let you cut through this. They list consignees, quantities, declared values and origins, so you can see which importers buy your product, how often, in what size of lot and from whom. The free marketplace on this site is a second channel, where you can post an offer and answer enquiries from importers who searched for your nut or fruit.
A written specification prevents most disputes. For nuts and dried fruit it should state the variety, the form (in shell, shelled, whole, halves, pieces), the size or count grade, the maximum moisture, the tolerance for broken, discoloured, insect-damaged and foreign material, and the crop year. Ask what the buyer’s laboratory will test and by which method.
The quality problems specific to this category are well known. Moisture that is too high invites mould, and some moulds produce aflatoxins, a contaminant that importers in many countries test for and reject lots over. Insects can develop in stored nuts and dried fruit, and fats in nuts can turn rancid with heat and time. Dried fruit such as raisins, dates and figs can ferment or crystallise if stored damp, and some buyers specify treatment with preservatives that must be declared.
Nuts and dried fruit are hygroscopic: they take up water from humid air. Pack in clean food-grade liners inside cartons or sacks, or in vacuum or gas-flushed packs where the buyer wants a longer shelf life. Shelled nuts are more vulnerable to rancidity than nuts in shell, so ask about oxygen barriers for long transit.
In a sealed sea container, warm loading and a cold voyage can cause condensation, called container rain, which wets the top layers. Load only cool, dry product, ask your forwarder about desiccant or liner options for humid lanes, and ask whether the buyer prefers a temperature-controlled container for premium shelled nuts. Keep dried fruit apart from strongly scented cargo, which it can absorb.
Build the price from raw material cost, processing and grading yield, packaging, testing, inland transport, port charges and freight. Yield matters: shelling and sorting loses weight, and cost per usable kilogram is higher than cost per kilogram bought. Decide which Incoterm to offer. Free on board suits a first sale because the buyer books the ocean leg; cost, insurance and freight makes you responsible for freight and for delivering to the destination port.
For a new buyer, a letter of credit or a meaningful advance is the safer route. Because the product is storable, disputes are usually about grade and testing, so agree in the contract who samples, which laboratory and method decides, and how a rejected lot is handled.
The standard set is a commercial invoice, a packing list, a transport document and a shipping bill or export declaration. Plant-derived food usually also needs a phytosanitary certificate, and importers may ask for a certificate of origin, a quality or analysis certificate, and a fumigation or treatment certificate where the destination requires it for cargo or pallets. All of these are usually required or requested depending on the market, so confirm current conditions with the importer and the authorities.
Book space, deliver the container to the port within the cut-off, send the documents as agreed and follow the vessel. On arrival, ask the buyer for a short inspection note so that any complaint is documented against your retained sample.
They are spread across chapter 08: cashew nuts in 0801, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and other tree nuts in 0802, dates and figs in 0804, dried grapes in 0806 and other dried fruit and mixtures in 0813. Pick the code for your exact product.
Moisture leading to mould and aflatoxin contamination is the best-known risk, along with insect damage and rancidity. Dry the product properly, test each lot and store it cool and dry to reduce the risk of a rejection.
No. Chapter 08 is edible fruit and nuts, so it also includes fresh fruit. Use the figures to identify large markets, then check shipment records for the specific nut or dried fruit.
Search customs shipment records for the code of your product to see consignees, quantities and origin countries, then contact those importers. You can also post an offer on the free marketplace on this site.
It is usually required for plant-derived products, but the rules depend on the destination and the product form. Confirm the current requirement with the plant-protection authority and the importer before shipping.
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