Turmeric: Fingers, Bulbs, Powder or Extract, and Why the Form Is the First Spec
- Updated
Meghalaya's Lakadong turmeric won a geographical indication in December 2023, and the reason buyers know its name is one number. India's farm research council describes it as a local variety "found superior for curcumin content of over 7.0%" (ICAR, Indian Farming (opens in a new tab), Manorama Yearbook, December 2023 (opens in a new tab)). Sellers everywhere now put curcumin on the label. Very few purchase orders put it in the contract.
This page is the specification side of turmeric for any origin: the forms, what curcumin does and doesn't tell you, the HS line for each form, and the clauses we'd write. It deliberately skips contamination and border checks for India, because turmeric from India covers lead chromate, pesticides and each border in depth. Spices as a whole are on spices.
The Forms, Side by Side
Here a table earns its place, because you're choosing one row.
| Form | What it is | Where it goes | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fingers | The side shoots of the rhizome, boiled and dried | Grinding, retail whole | Polish, broken pieces, moisture |
| Bulbs | The central "mother" rhizome | Grinding, cheaper lots | Usually sold apart from fingers. Ask |
| Polished | Fingers or bulbs rubbed smooth, sometimes coloured | Looks better in a sack | Colour added during polishing |
| Unpolished | Rough, dull skin left on | Processors who test their own | Less pretty, easier to trust |
| Ground (powder) | Milled roots | Retail, food makers | Filler, dye, mixed lots |
| Sliced or chips | Cut dried rhizome | Tea, herbal blends | Moisture, mould |
| Oleoresin or curcumin extract | A solvent extract, a different product | Colour and supplements | It isn't a spice in customs terms |
The polished row is where a buyer's spec does the most work. Polishing is normal. Colouring during polishing is the thing to exclude, by name, in the contract.
Curcumin: Set the Number, Name the Method
Curcumin is the yellow pigment, and it's what most buyers mean by "strength". Two problems follow. First, there's no shared grade name. Varieties differ widely, and Lakadong's figure is a variety claim, not a guarantee for any given sack. Second, curcumin results depend on the method. A spectrophotometer reading of "total curcuminoids" and an HPLC result for curcumin itself are not the same number.
So write it as a clause: minimum curcumin, the method (HPLC or the spectrophotometric method), dry basis or as-is, and who tests. If you're buying for colour, ask for colour value too. A supplier who quotes high curcumin and won't name the method is quoting a marketing number.
The Rest of the Clauses
Here's what we'd put in a purchase specification for whole or ground turmeric from anywhere:
- Form and polish, as in the table, with "no added colour" written out.
- Moisture, a maximum, because mould follows it.
- Extraneous matter and broken pieces, as maximum percentages.
- Mesh size for powder, and whether it may be blended from several lots. Single-lot powder is easier to trace.
- Sterilisation method, steam or none. If the supplier uses ethylene oxide, you want to know before the lab does.
- Lot coding, one lot number on every sack, certificate and invoice.
- Contaminant limits set by your market, not the origin's. The India page lists the tests that matter for Indian lots.
Have the sample tested against the same clauses you'll hold the bulk to. Our sample evaluation checklist lays out the steps.
HS Classification
Whole and ground turmeric both sit under 0910.30, which is why many tariffs treat them alike. New Zealand is the exception that splits them, as above, so a ground lot costs more there until 20 October 2026.
Extracts are a trap. Curcumin sold as a colour is, on our reading of the headings, colouring matter of vegetable origin in 3203, and turmeric oleoresin sits with essential oils and resinoids in 3301. A capsule product with health claims can land somewhere else again. Confirm the line with your customs broker before you compare duty, because each heading carries its own rate and its own rules.
Where It's Grown
India grows most of the world's turmeric, and the India page gives the official production and port figures. For a buyer writing a spec, the useful point is that named varieties and GI regions, Lakadong among them, are a reason to ask for origin documents, not a quality certificate in themselves.
Back to Lakadong
The Lakadong story is good news for buyers, as long as the number travels with the goods. If curcumin is why you're paying for a variety, write the curcumin figure, the method and the test into the order, and check it on the bulk, not only on the sample. If you'd like an independent person to draw that sample at the mill, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) arranges it.