Indian Spice Harvest Calendar: Month-by-Month Arrival Season for Every Major Seed
Most Indian seed spices are rabi crops: sown in October and November, harvested between February and April, with wholesale mandi arrivals peaking from March to May. Kharif pulses such as moth beans and moong follow the monsoon instead and arrive in October and November. This calendar sets out the sowing window, harvest month, peak arrival period and main trading market for every major seed India exports.
Key points:
- Rabi seed spices (cumin, fennel, fenugreek, coriander, mustard, dill, garden cress) are harvested February to April.
- Peak mandi arrivals for those crops run March to May; April to June is generally the best price and freshness window.
- Kharif pulses (moth bean, kharif moong) are harvested October to November.
- Arrivals lag harvest by three to six weeks because of drying, threshing and cleaning.
- November to January is the lean season, when prices typically sit at their annual highs.
Rabi and Kharif: the two cycles that drive Indian spice supply
India runs two cropping seasons, and almost every spice this country exports belongs to one of them. Rabi is the winter cycle: crops are sown after the south-west monsoon withdraws in October and November, grow through the cool dry winter on irrigation rather than rainfall, and are reaped in spring. Nearly all seed spices sit here. Kharif is the monsoon cycle: crops are sown with the first rains from late June, depend on rainfall, and are harvested at the end of the monsoon in October and November. Moth beans and kharif moong sit here. Knowing which cycle a seed belongs to tell you immediately when the new crop will be available.
Master calendar: what arrives in Indian mandis each month
Indian spice arrivals concentrate into two windows: March to June for rabi seed spices, and October to December for kharif pulses. The remaining months are traded from carry-over stock. Here is the twelve-month cycle.
| Month | What is happening | Arriving in mandis |
|---|---|---|
| January | Rabi crop standing in field; frost risk window; sowing acreage estimates firm up | Lean season — carry-over stock only |
| February | Cumin, fenugreek, dill and garden cress harvest begins; coriander arrivals start building | First coriander; early cumin in some belts |
| March | Peak harvest month for most rabi seed spices; fresh crop moves to mandi | Cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, dill, garden cress, coriander |
| April | Harvest completes; cleaning and grading at peak; strongest buying window opens | Peak cumin and fennel; coriander building |
| May | Arrivals still heavy; summer moong harvest in irrigated belts | Cumin, fennel, coriander, summer moong |
| June | Rabi arrivals begin tapering; monsoon onset; kharif sowing starts | Tail of coriander and cumin; summer moong |
| July | Kharif sowing of moth bean and moong with monsoon onset; humidity storage risk begins | Lean — stored stock only |
| August | Peak monsoon; highest moisture and pest risk in warehouses | Lean — stored stock only |
| September | Kharif crop maturing; monsoon withdrawing | Lean; early kharif moong in some belts |
| October | Kharif harvest begins; rabi sowing of cumin, fennel, methi, mustard and coriander starts | Kharif moong; early moth bean |
| November | Rabi sowing completes; traders offload old stock ahead of the new season | Peak moth bean and moong; old-stock seed spices |
| December | Rabi crop in vegetative stage; late sowing possible for cumin | Tail of moth bean; lean for seed spices |
Crop-by-crop harvest and arrival table
Each seed has its own sowing window, maturity period and trading hub. The table below is the reference sheet buyers use when planning shipment schedules.
| Seed | Season | Sowing | Harvest | Peak arrivals | Main growing belt and mandis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumin (Jeera) | Rabi | Mid-Oct to mid-Dec | Feb–Apr | Mar–May | Unjha, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Patan (Gujarat); Jodhpur, Nagaur, Barmer, Jalore (Rajasthan) |
| Fennel (Saunf) | Rabi | Mid-Sep to Oct | Feb–Apr | Mar–May | Mehsana, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli (Gujarat); Nagaur, Sirohi, Jodhpur, Pali (Rajasthan) |
| Fenugreek (Methi) | Rabi | Late Oct to early Nov | Feb–Mar | Mar–Apr | Rajasthan (largest), Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh |
| Coriander (Dhaniya) | Rabi | 15 Oct to 15 Nov | Feb–Mar | Feb–Jun (peak Mar–May) | Kota, Ramganj Mandi, Baran (Rajasthan); Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh |
| Mustard (Sarson / Rai) | Rabi | Oct–Nov | Feb–Mar | Mar–Apr | Bharatpur, Alwar (Rajasthan); Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana |
| Dill Seed (Suva / Soya) | Rabi | Oct–Nov | Feb–Mar | Mar–Apr | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh |
| Garden Cress (Halim / Aliv) | Rabi | Oct–Nov | Feb–Mar | Mar–Apr | Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh |
| Moong (Green Gram) | Kharif and summer | Jun–Jul / Feb–Mar | Sep–Oct / May–Jun | Oct–Nov / Jun | Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka |
| Moth Bean (Matki) | Kharif | Late Jun–Jul | Oct–Nov | Oct–Dec | Bikaner, Nagaur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer (Rajasthan); parts of Gujarat |
When should bulk buyers place orders?
For rabi seed spices, April to June is generally the strongest window to contract volume. Supply is at its annual peak, the crop is fresh, and full grade selection is available because cleaning and sorting lines are running on new material. Lean-season prices between November and January commonly run 15 to 25 percent above peak-arrival lows, though the gap depends on that year's crop size. For moth beans and kharif moong, the equivalent window is November to January. Buyers who need year-round supply typically contract the bulk of annual volume during the arrival peak and take staggered shipments across the following months.
Why arrival timing affects quality, not only price
Buying at the arrival peak gives you the freshest crop, and for aromatic seeds freshness is a specification, not a preference. Cumin aroma dissipates rapidly when stock is held in open or humid conditions, and both quality and price fall sharply after roughly six months of poor storage. Export-grade cumin is generally held to below 10 percent moisture with volatile oil above 3.5 percent. Material bought late in the lean season has already spent nine or ten months in storage. If you are buying outside the arrival window, ask for the crop year on the certificate of analysis, not just the test date.
What can shift this calendar in any given year
The calendar is a reliable baseline, but weather moves it by two to four weeks in either direction. Three factors matter most. Sowing delay: cumin sown after mid-November faces warm weather during grain filling and yields less, pushing harvest later. Frost during December and January can damage standing rabi crops across Rajasthan and north Gujarat. Unseasonal rain at harvest is the most damaging of all, because rainfall during harvesting degrades seed quality and can allow fungal disease to set in. Cumin also has a narrow harvest window of only five to seven days before shattering losses begin, so a rain event at the wrong moment affects both volume and grade.
Plan your sourcing around the season
Hasti Heera, a brand of Gajendra Spices and Cold Pvt. Ltd., supplies machine-cleaned and sorted-grade seed spices and pulses from Rajasthan with cold storage capacity that holds quality through the lean months. Share your grade, packing and destination requirement and our team will map a shipment schedule to the arrival calendar.
Related product pages
- Cumin Seeds Supplier in India
- Fennel (Saunf) Seeds Supplier in India
- Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds Supplier in India
- Mustard Seeds Supplier in India
- Dill (Suva) Seeds Supplier in India
- Garden Cress Seeds Supplier in India
- Moong Seeds Supplier in India
- Moth Seeds Supplier in India
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When is cumin (jeera) harvested in India?
Cumin is harvested from February to April, with the bulk of the crop cut in late February and March. It is a rabi crop sown from mid-October to mid-December and matures in roughly 110 to 120 days. Fresh crop reaches the Unjha mandi in Gujarat from March onwards, with peak arrivals from late March through May.
2. When do fresh cumin arrivals start in the Unjha market?
New-season cumin begins reaching Unjha in March. Arrivals build through late March and peak between April and May, then taper from June. Unjha in Gujarat is the world's largest regulated wholesale market for cumin, and the prices set there influence the global cumin trade.
3. Which months are cheapest to buy Indian seed spices in bulk?
April to June is usually the most favourable window for rabi seed spices. Supply is at its highest during peak arrivals, so prices sit at their seasonal low and the crop is at its freshest. Lean-season prices between November and January commonly run 15 to 25 percent above peak-arrival lows, depending on the size of that year's crop.
4. When is fennel (saunf) harvested in India?
Fennel is a rabi crop sown from mid-September through October and harvested from February to April. Peak mandi arrivals run March to May. The main growing districts are Mehsana, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Aravalli in Gujarat, and Nagaur, Sirohi, Jodhpur and Pali in Rajasthan.
5. When is coriander seed (dhaniya) available in Indian mandis?
Coriander arrivals begin increasing in February and stay at peak levels through June, then recede from July. The lean season runs until next February. Sowing is best done between 15 October and 15 November. The three largest coriander mandis are Kota, Ramganj Mandi and Baran in south-eastern Rajasthan.
6. When is moth bean harvested in India?
Moth bean is a kharif crop sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon in late June and July, and harvested in October and November. Arrivals run from October through December. Rajasthan dominates production, particularly the Bikaner, Nagaur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer belt.
7. Are Indian seed spices available for export all year round?
Yes. Harvest is seasonal but supply is not. Exporters hold graded, cleaned stock in controlled storage through the lean months, so cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, dill and garden cress can be shipped in any month. What changes across the year is price, the age of the crop and the availability of specific grades.
8. What is the difference between harvest season and arrival season?
Harvest season is when the crop is cut and threshed in the field. Arrival season is when that crop reaches the wholesale mandi and becomes available to buy. Arrivals typically lag harvest by three to six weeks because of drying, threshing, cleaning and transport. For cumin, harvest runs February to April while peak arrivals run March to May.