Importing Ceylon Spices into Australia

Compliance snapshot

Since 28 April 2022, every herb and spice shipped to Australia, from any country, needs a phytosanitary certificate carrying a Trogoderma freedom declaration (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, DAFF).

Sri Lanka sits on DAFF’s list of khapra beetle target risk countries, so seed spices such as cumin, coriander and fennel need offshore treatment before they sail.

Dried pepper is an Imported Food Inspection Scheme risk food for Salmonella: 100% of consignments are tested until the importer builds a clean record.

Silk Route Ventures (SRV) ships from Matale at 50 kg per SKU, with sea freight to Australia at 3 to 4 weeks.

The touchpoint table below is the section to forward to procurement.

Sri Lanka exported US$927,640 of cinnamon and US$519,450 of pepper to Australia in 2024 (Trading Economics, from UN Comtrade data). For the origin that supplies most of the world’s true cinnamon, those are small numbers, and the reason is not demand. Australian brand owners who try to import Ceylon spices directly meet three separate systems at the border: plant biosecurity, imported food safety and retail labelling. Each one is run by a different agency and each one is checked against a different document. Most buyers solve the problem by paying a local importer or broker to absorb it. This piece maps the three systems, names the document each one reads, and shows which parts a certified exporter can clear before the container leaves Colombo.

What does Australian biosecurity require for imported spices?

Australian biosecurity treats dried herbs and spices as plant products that can carry khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium), one of the most damaging stored-grain pests in the world and one Australia does not have. Under the khapra beetle urgent actions, DAFF sorts plant products into two groups, and the group decides what the paperwork must say.

The first group is other-risk plant products, which covers herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruit and most seeds. From 28 April 2022, these products exported from any country must travel with a phytosanitary certificate that includes an additional declaration: representative samples were inspected and found free from evidence of any Trogoderma species of biosecurity concern, live, dead or as cast skins (DAFF, khapra beetle Phase 4). In Sri Lanka, that certificate is issued by the National Plant Quarantine Service after an official inspection of the lot.

The second group is high-risk plant products. For the spice trade, the list includes cumin seed, coriander seed, celery seed, fennel seed and dried chillies. Sri Lanka is on DAFF’s list of khapra beetle target risk countries, which means high-risk products from Sri Lanka need mandatory offshore treatment, and when they ship in a full container load, the container itself needs treatment too. Commercially prepared goods that have been thermally processed, such as roasted or retorted products, are excluded from the high-risk measures.

That split is the first spec decision for an Australian range. Cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, cloves and cardamom sit in the other-risk group: phytosanitary certificate with the declaration, then inspection on arrival. Cumin, coriander and fennel seed from Sri Lanka carry the extra treatment step, a treatment certificate, and a longer pre-shipment window. A blended range that mixes both groups in one container inherits the stricter conditions for those lines.

Certification snapshot: what clears the biosecurity step

Phytosanitary certificate: issued by Sri Lanka’s National Plant Quarantine Service, with the Trogoderma additional declaration worded exactly as DAFF requires

Offshore treatment certificate: required for high-risk seed spices from a target risk country

Container treatment: required for a full container load carrying high-risk products from a target risk country

BICON: DAFF’s import conditions database, checked per product before every new SKU is quoted

The three border touchpoints for a Ceylon spice range

A single shipment of Ceylon spices meets DAFF twice, once for biosecurity and once for food safety, and then meets the retail label rules once it leaves the wharf. The table sets out what each touchpoint checks, the document it reads, and who normally prepares that document.

Touchpoint	Rule or scheme	What is checked	Document the check reads	Prepared by
Plant biosecurity	Khapra beetle measures, BICON import conditions	Freedom from Trogoderma, treatment for high-risk seed spices	Phytosanitary certificate with additional declaration; treatment certificate where required	Exporter, with Sri Lanka’s National Plant Quarantine Service
Imported food safety	Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS)	Salmonella in dried pepper, chilli and paprika; visual and label assessment	Batch COA, lot codes that match the invoice and packing list	Exporter supplies; importer lodges
Import declaration	Australian Border Force entry	Tariff classification, origin, value	Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin	Exporter supplies; licensed customs broker lodges
Retail labelling	Food Standards Code; country of origin labelling	Allergen declaration format, origin statement, name and lot	The finished retail label	Brand owner, with the packer if private label

Touchpoints for a sea freight consignment of dried spices entering Australia for sale. Conditions differ by product; BICON is the reference for each SKU.

The table also shows where a broker is and is not needed. A licensed customs broker lodging the import declaration in Australia is a regulated role and a sensible cost. A trading intermediary who buys from a Sri Lankan exporter, re-invoices, and adds a margin for the paperwork is a different thing. Every document in the first three rows can come straight from a certified exporter, and in practice the exporter is the only party that can produce the phytosanitary certificate at all.

How the Imported Food Inspection Scheme treats pepper and chilli

The Imported Food Inspection Scheme classifies imported foods as risk foods or surveillance foods, using advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). FSANZ’s risk statement, compiled in November 2016, rates Salmonella in ready-to-eat dried pepper and paprika as a medium or high risk to public health. The commodity covers Piper species (black and white pepper), allspice and Capsicum (chilli and paprika). Product that will be heat treated later in processing is outside the statement.

The same FSANZ document reports that IFIS applied 10,079 Salmonella tests to dried paprika and pepper between January 2007 and May 2016, with 126 fails, a failure rate of 1.3%. The failed samples came from multiple countries. FSANZ also noted inconsistency in how steam sterilisation is applied across the trade, which is the part of the problem a buyer can actually control.

Inspection frequency follows the importer’s record. A risk food is referred at 100% until five consecutive consignments pass, then drops to 25%, and after a further 20 consecutive passes to 5%. Surveillance foods, which include most other spices, are referred at random at around 5%. For a new importer of Ceylon pepper, that means the first five shipments are all held and tested, and a single fail resets the count. A validated steam treatment, a Salmonella result on the batch COA, and lot codes that match the invoice are what get a new importer through those first five without a hold turning into a rejection.

What labelling rules apply to spices sold in Australia?

Two parts of the Australian label trip up importers most often. The first is country of origin. Under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016, herbs and spices are non-priority foods, so the kangaroo standard mark is optional, but a clear origin statement such as “Product of Sri Lanka” is still required (ACCC guidance). A spice blend packed in Australia from Sri Lankan ingredients needs its own statement, for example “Packed in Australia from imported ingredients”.

The second is allergen format. Plain English Allergen Labelling under the Food Standards Code became mandatory for labels on 25 February 2024, and the two-year stock-in-trade period closed on 25 February 2026 (FSANZ). Every spice product on an Australian shelf now needs allergens declared in the bolded plain-English format and in a summary statement. Single-origin cinnamon or pepper rarely carries an allergen, but blends containing wheat flour, milk powder or sesame, and any shared-line precautionary statement, need the format checked before the first print run.

Organic claims work differently from the US and EU. Australia has no mandatory domestic organic regulation for food sold locally: AS 6000 is a voluntary standard, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) requires only that an organic claim can be proven. That sounds easier, and for importers it is a trap. A USDA Organic or EU Organic certificate plus the organic transaction certificate for each lot is the proof that holds up if the claim is challenged, and many Australian retailers want to see it on file before they list an organic SKU.

Buyer’s checklist: an Australian import file for a Ceylon spice range

BICON import conditions checked for every SKU, with other-risk and high-risk lines separated

Phytosanitary certificate carrying the exact Trogoderma additional declaration

Offshore treatment certificate for any cumin, coriander, celery or fennel seed line

Validated steam treatment for pepper and chilli, with Salmonella absent in 25 g on the batch COA

Lot codes identical across COA, commercial invoice and packing list

Country of origin statement and PEAL allergen declaration on the retail artwork

Organic transaction certificate per lot for any organic claim

Certificate of origin for the customs broker’s tariff entry

Where certifications help, and where they do not

It is worth being precise here, because suppliers often oversell this. BRCGS and FSSC 22000 V6 do not replace a phytosanitary certificate, and they do not exempt a risk food from IFIS testing. What they do is make the documents underneath those checks reliable. A site audited under both standards runs validated microbial reduction steps, keeps batch-level records, and issues a Certificate of Analysis per batch rather than per container. That is exactly what a new importer needs to pass five consecutive IFIS tests.

Certification also matters after the border. The supplier standards used by Australia’s larger grocery retailers are built around schemes benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), and BRCGS and FSSC 22000 are both GFSI-benchmarked. A brand owner planning a supermarket own-label listing or a national ranging review will be asked for the manufacturing site’s certificate before the commercial conversation goes far.

On 28 April 2022, one sentence was added to every phytosanitary certificate for herbs and spices entering Australia. Shipments that left origin without it were held on arrival, and importers learned the new wording one container at a time. The lesson for buyers outlasted the beetle measures: Australian import conditions change by notice, and the exporter who checks BICON before quoting is doing part of the importer’s compliance work for free.

Where SRV’s pricing doesn’t fit. Australian buyers bidding for the lowest landed price per kilogram on generic ground spices. Indian and Vietnamese bulk suppliers with established Australian importer networks are the more honest answer for that brief. Ceylon spices earn their price when the brand prints the origin, needs true cinnamon rather than cassia, and wants every batch documented.

How a direct Ceylon supply route works for an Australian brand owner

Silk Foods Ceylon (SFC) packs spices on its line at the Matale facility at 100 to 200 kg per hour, with a Certificate of Analysis on every batch. The first-order minimum is 50 kg per SKU, applied per product, so a six-spice Australian range needs 300 kg of raw material across the lines. Volume pricing steps down at 500, 1,000 and 2,500 kg per SKU.

The sequence for a first Australian order runs like this. Samples ship door to door by international courier (DHL, FedEx or UPS) in 3 to 5 business days, and those samples also need to meet Australian import conditions. After approval, production takes 2 to 3 weeks from PO to dispatch, during which the phytosanitary inspection, any offshore treatment and the document pack are prepared. Sea freight from Colombo to an Australian port runs 3 to 4 weeks. The standard pack travels with every order: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, phytosanitary certificate, batch COA, and the organic transaction certificate for organic SKUs.

Stage	Time	What the Australian buyer receives
Samples	3 to 5 business days by courier	Sample COA, spec sheet
Production	2 to 3 weeks from PO	Pre-shipment COA, draft document pack for broker review
Sea freight to Australia	3 to 4 weeks	Original documents, lot codes matched across the pack
Arrival and clearance	Depends on IFIS referral	Documents already in the broker’s hands before berthing

Lead times from the Silk Foods Ceylon facility in Matale. Clearance time depends on DAFF inspection and the importer’s IFIS history.

Frequently asked questions

Do imported spices need a phytosanitary certificate in Australia?

Yes. Since 28 April 2022, herbs and spices exported to Australia from any country need a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that representative samples were found free from Trogoderma species (DAFF). High-risk seed spices such as cumin and coriander from target risk countries, including Sri Lanka, also need offshore treatment.

Is black pepper tested for Salmonella at the Australian border?

Yes. Under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme, dried pepper, chilli and paprika are risk foods for Salmonella, based on a November 2016 FSANZ risk statement. Consignments are referred at 100% until five consecutive passes, then 25%, then 5% after a further 20 passes. IFIS recorded a 1.3% fail rate across 10,079 tests from 2007 to 2016.

What country of origin label does a spice need in Australia?

Herbs and spices are non-priority foods under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016, so the kangaroo standard mark is optional (ACCC). A text origin statement is still mandatory, such as “Product of Sri Lanka” for a single-origin pack, or “Packed in Australia from imported ingredients” for a locally packed blend.

Can Silk Route Ventures supply Ceylon spices direct to an Australian brand?

Yes. SRV supplies Ceylon cinnamon, pepper, turmeric and other spices from the BRCGS and FSSC 22000 V6 audited SFC facility in Matale at 50 kg per SKU for a first order. Every order ships with a phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin and batch COA. Sea freight to Australia takes 3 to 4 weeks.

How Silk Route Ventures can help

Silk Route Ventures supplies bulk and private-label Ceylon spices to Australian brand owners and importers without a trading intermediary between the Matale facility and the buyer’s customs broker. Lots are packed against the buyer’s spec at the BRCGS and FSSC 22000 V6 audited Silk Foods Ceylon facility, with a Certificate of Analysis on every batch, and the phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin and organic transaction certificates are prepared before dispatch. First-order MOQ is 50 kg per SKU, production lead time is 2 to 3 weeks from PO, and sea freight to Australia runs 3 to 4 weeks. Contact us to send an inquiry or request a sample pack.

Sources

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, “Requirements for other-risk plant products to protect against khapra beetle”. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/khapra-beetle/other-risk-plant-products (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, “List of target-risk countries for host of khapra beetle”. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/policy/legislation/list-target-risk-countries-host-khapra-beetle (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, “Measures for plant products under the khapra beetle urgent actions”. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/identify/khapra-beetle/plant-products (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand, “Imported food risk statement: Dried paprika and pepper and Salmonella spp.”, November 2016. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/Dried%20paprika%20and%20pepper%20and%20Salmonella.pdf (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, “Imported Food Inspection Scheme”. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/import/goods/food/inspection-testing/ifis (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, “Country of origin food labelling”. https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-and-promotions/country-of-origin-food-labelling (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand, “Plain English Allergen Labelling: one year of clearer, safer food labels”. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/news/plain-english-allergen-labelling-one-year-clearer-safer-food-labels (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, “Organic claims”. https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/advertising-and-promotions/organic-claims (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Trading Economics, “Sri Lanka exports to Australia of coffee, tea, mate and spices” (UN Comtrade data). https://tradingeconomics.com/sri-lanka/exports/australia/coffee-tea-mate-spices (retrieved 27 September 2026)

Written by the Silk Route Ventures Trade Team. Silk Route Ventures (E-Silk Route Ventures (Pvt) Ltd) is a Sri Lankan B2B supply-chain operator for the Food, Beverage, Wellness and Nutraceuticals sectors. The Silk Foods Ceylon manufacturing arm holds BRCGS and FSSC 22000 V6 certifications. Questions or to request a sample: Contact us or email info@esilkroute.com.lk.

Importing Ceylon Spices into Australia: Biosecurity and Labelling