The United States remains among the biggest consumers of dried cloves in the globe, and the imported quantity between the years 2024 is projected to be around 15,000 metric tons as Spice Nusantara suggests. This is indicative of the increased concern in ingredients of natural, plant origin in many industries like food, beverage, herbal drugs, essential oils, and cosmetics.
This is a golden chance to help Vietnamese exporters tap the potential in the dried cloves product, a high-quality product, as an option that can serve US businesses who are seeking large volume stable market focuses. Supported by well-nurtured growing areas, expanding processing facilities, and increases in compliance with international standards, Vietnam is slowly being accepted as an alternative to old guard clove suppliers such as Indonesia, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.
Applications of dried cloves in US industries
Dried cloves ( Syzygium aromaticum ) are more than just a spice in the kitchen cabinet as in the U.S., it is an industrial raw material with high demand in a variety of industries:
Food and beverage manufacturing
In the United States food and beverage industry, dried cloves also provide warm, aromatic flavor to other products like baked goods, spice mixtures, herbal teas, marinades, and mulled wine. Whole cloves are used to make powder when grinding them or extraction of natural oils and manufacturers usually prefer them. Clove’s own antimicrobial power (primarily due to eugenol) makes it of growing interest as a natural preservative, and is consistent with the label-friendly trend which is sweeping the U.S. consumer markets.
Herbal supplements and nutraceuticals
Clove is an important botanical constituent of U.S. dietary supplements, especially in digestive health supplements, blood sugar management, and anti-inflammatory supplements. The spray-dried or the clove extract can typically be provided in a capsule formulation or as part of an herbal combination. Responding to increasing demand for natural plant based ingredients in nutraceuticals, U.S. Nutraceutical wellness brands are seeking organic certified cloves, as a source that is clean and traceable.
Essential oils and cosmetics
Dried cloves are distilled to form clove essential oil, which is extensively used in skincare, personal care products and aromatherapy. It has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory value, and is therefore highly appreciated in the United States, where it might be found as a component of acne medication, as well as a variety of muscle sprains or mouthwashes. On the demand side, there are many cosmetic producers who want to have clove oil with clean records of origin, content of eugenol and whether the product meets the U.S requirements of FDA and cosmetic products.
Why the US clove market matters for exporters
Currently, the United States imports most of the dried cloves it uses as a major global supplier in Indonesia and Madagascar. Nevertheless, the continual evolution in dynamics of global supply chains and the increase in the costs of raw materials has made most American buyers very active in exploring alternative sourcing arrangements. Vietnam as an improving agricultural process and expanding export facilities is more and more considered to be a valid supplier.
There are a number of reasons behind the increasing clove imports in the U.S. Among the significant factors is the increasing number of demands of functional foods and beverages which have spices such as cloves due to their wellbeing properties. The consumers are increasingly becoming health-conscious and therefore the manufacturers will include natural ingredients which provide both functions and taste.
Moreover, a certain trend regarding consumer and brand preference toward sustainable and organic sourced ingredients is also evident. This is particularly significant as regards those categories such as nutraceutical, organic snacks, premium beverages-the categories where clove is used as a functional and flavour ingredient.
There is also the growth in the U.S market of developing herbal medicinal products. Demand is further boosted by use of cloves which have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity in formulations as dietary supplements and in traditional herbal products as well.
Finally, owing to volatility of global logistics as well as production in the past years, U.S. importers are increasingly regarding diversification strategies as their sources. They seek to minimize the use of one region too much to allow other countries such as Vietnam to make their entrance into the market.
This is a good opportunity for Vietnamese exporters. The suppliers would be able to set themselves up for long term B2B contracts, high prices, and consistent access to the market by ensuring their adherence to U.S. standards in quality, safety, and traceability.
Vietnam’s potential as a competitive dried cloves supplier
Cloves manufacturing in Vietnam is a relatively young industry that is quickly growing, their major areas of growing are Quang Ngai, the Central Highlands, and southern provinces. Vietnam is still an emerging country but it is becoming competitive as an alternative to the traditional clove-exporting countries.
Cost-efficiency is one of the biggest benefits. In 2024, Vietnamese export price of dried cloves averaged at USD 6,300 per metric ton, which is much lower than what its Madagascar counterpart is (over USD 7,200 per metric ton on average) (IndexBox). This price differentiation enables the United States importers with a chance to reduce the cost of procurement without reducing the quality.
The U.S. shipping distance is also shorter to Vietnam too because of the Pacific Ocean trade routes it is able to access. This geographical advantage when compared to trading with the African suppliers enables flexible delivery time and shorter transit time which is a major concern among just-in-time chains of supply.
On a compliance basis, numbers of Vietnamese exporters are catching up fast with an increased uptake of HACCP, ISO 22000 and USDA Organic certifications. These standards are very compatible with the demands of the U.S. consumers that are interested in food safety, traceability, and organic procurement.
Lastly, its inclusion in the free trade deals such as the CPTPP allows Vietnam to reduce tariffs and make customs procedures less complicated. This makes Vietnam even more attractive to the U.S. importers who are in need of a stable, low price and law-adherent supply of dried cloves.
Greatfoods – Your reliable partner offer dried cloves for your business
Vietnam firms such as GreatFoods have already confirmed good systems of bulk export of dried spices like dried cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and pepper, with customers mainly located in the U.S., Germany and Japan.
GreatFoods is a company specializing in the export of Vietnamese dried cloves to other B2B companies looking to use or distribute spices, such as food manufacturers, distribution companies in spices, and health brands. We deliver with quality products and services; we offer long-term clove suppliers, custom packaging, and we offer to explore the services of the private label production.
For inquiries and orders, please contact us at:
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- Email: [email protected]
We are happy to partner with you in the future!