Got choofed last night and spent hours looking at the value chain of Indonesian nutmeg exports.
50% of the market (20,000T) is exported and the vast majority of the supply comes from small-time holder farmer local collectors, no industrialised farming.
The exporting companies seem largely like smaller operations, I found some of their US customs records and a lot are making relatively small shipments of 5T or less. Looking at their listed addresses from the customs forms shows standard small suburban industrial yards with a few dodgy trucks that would move the dried product from villages. I'm not sure if these exporters would be the 'local collector' element of the supply chain or if that exists as a middle man between the exporter and the actual producer.
There has to be a way to exploit the lack of farms somehow. With current methods they just let the nutmeg seed and mace dry by laying them out on the ground, surely I could pay a premium for them and setup a more industrial processing plant with gas heating and internationally compliant quality assurance (EU safety regulation is the largest non-tariff barrier) to try and find the upper hand. It seems like due to the traditional nature of the industry it would be a lot easier to break into compared to say, palm oil.
Coles brand nutmeg is packed in India, the second largest exporter, but Woolies brand nutmeg is packed in Aus from imported ingredients.
Wondering if the importers face issues doing business with foreign companies and would benefit from having a direct Aussie contact as their supplier.
Need that cruisey money to get started