Guidance to start Cumin seed business

National Research Centre on Seed Spices under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is developing high yielding seeds of Cummins. Rajasthan and Gujarat are the two states where good production of this commodity is in full swing. Other areas where the production of these seeds takes place are centres come in the central state of Madhya Pradesh followed by Uttar Pradesh.
There are three major types of seeds.
1. Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) -These seeds will have a pungent bitter taste and aroma. They are used as a spice in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Harvested in Northern India
2.Bitter cumin (Kashmiri jeera/ Shahi jeera) - It is harvested in Noth India. It is also harvested in northern mountainous regions. It is also bitter in taste.
3. Cumin - It is the most common variety. Mainly grown in Northern, Western and Central India. It is brownish in colour. It is less pungent in smell than Black seed cumin.
Storage of these seeds should be done very carefully. These seeds absorb moisture very easily. So dried cumin seeds should be stored in moisture-proof containers. They should be away from direct sunlight. The stored product should be inspected.
Other information:
1, For exporting this product you have to obtain Importer Exporter Code from Directorate General of Foreign Trade
2.You have to Register s with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
3. You have to obtain a quarantine registration certificate from Directorate of Plant -Protection Quarantine and Storage for export consignments.
4.Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration certificate is also required

Any additional information can be obtained from
http://dgft.gov.in/sites/default/files/sch2_0.pdf
http://www.apeda.gov.in
http://www.indianspices.com/

If you want to do wholesale or retail business in cumin seed then you will have to contact the suppliers in Gujarat or Rajasthan where cumin markets are there and they will send the material to your place and then you can sell them in your place either as the wholesale merchant or retail whichever mode you want to operate. Before doing this business, you will have to acquire the licence and permissions for your shop or trading company from the state Govt where you reside. Further, the statutory permissions like the FSSAI registration would also be required.

For example, presently the rate of cumin seed in Rajkot-Mehsana area in Gujarat state is hovering in the range Rs 1.4 to 1.6 lakh per 1000 kg. If you order it from any supplier there they may give some discount on that seeing the business relations with you and hoping for the future orders from you to them only. That is how the clientele in a business is maintained. Let us assume that you order for 20000 kg at a price of Rs 1.4 lakhs per 1000 kg. So you can ask them to send it by the train or truck whatever is the mechanism they are following and deliver to your place and you can pay them by whatever mode they ask you. Once you receive the material then you have to sell it in your area by adding your margin and that you can very well find from the current rate of this commodity in your area. Let us assume that you sell it about Rs 1.7 lakh per 1000 kg in wholesale segment and then Rs 174 per kg in retail segment. So you earn some gain in this but we have to find out whether that meets all the expenses etc or not. While doing this exercise you must take all the running costs incurred by you in account and fixed costs like capital costs are not to be taken at this point as that would reflect later in form of a depreciation or part cost when you account them in the end of the accounting cycle. If it does not make a profit as per these calculations then it is clear that selling it in your area is not a good business proposition and then you have to find out other states or places where it is costly and you can work as a buffer in between but doing so will decrease your margins further as more costs for transportation etc will add up. In such circumstances it would be better to consider more such commodities and do a consolidated business so that if in some year due to some reasons one of the commodities does not fetch a good return, you can at least earn your revenue from the other commodity. It is always better to have a multiple commodity business to avoid any adverse situation coming due to the setback in the business cycle of a particular commodity.

If you get good sales for this item then your revenue would increase and then you can even think to pass on a part of your profit back to the customers in form of some gift item or discount on purchasing the commodity in large quantity. You also have to do marketing for your product and have to showcase your willingness to provide more discounts to the loyal customers. You will have to raise the infrastructure for all these things and should hire some staff or labourers to handle these activities. You must have a place in the market from where you can manage these operations.

A trader does not produce or manufacture any item. He simply transfers items between the source and the destination. Many people are in trading business, so competition is expected for a new person. Further, it requires a lot of experience and knowhow to start and sustain a wholesale or retail business in any commodity. One has to keep a watch on the prices of the various items in commodity price portals and take the decisions dynamically to extract the best possible buy-sale action. Sometimes material gets accumulated due to more receipts and less deliveries and then the surplus is to be stored for some time and it adds to costs but it gives leverage due to increase of the price from the normal season of the commodity to off-season price. So, there are many factors and one has to learn the tricks of the trades with time and with hard work and sustained efforts one can get good return in such commodity businesses.

Probably, it will help you.
Cumin Seeds - Jeera Latest Price, Manufacturers & Suppliers
https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/cumin-seeds.html