The genus Cinnamomum

302 M.S. Madan and S. Kannan
layered quills are trimmed to 106.7 cm quills as specified by the world cinnamon
market. Quills are packed in 45 kg bales and classified into 10 grades according to
diameter and the number of 106.7 cm quills to a pound; permissible amounts of foxing
are specified for each grade (see ISO 6539–1983).
Quills harvested for grade ‘A’ cassia cinnamon must be 1 m long and taken from the
main trunk of the tree. The grade ‘B’ is harvested from the side branches and has an oil
content of about 2.25%. Broken pieces are marketed as grade ‘C’ that contains about
1.5% volatile oil. The US and Mexico are the biggest importers of quills.
The market for quillings is not as extensive in comparison with the other products.
Mexico is the main market for this product. Featherings are imported mainly by
Argentina, Switzerland and the UK, while countries like Canada, Australia, and the
UK are the markets for chips.
Ground or crushed cinnamon is another product which has gained importance
since the drive to export value added products. Chips, referred to as ‘quillings’ and
‘featherings’, are sold as medium-quality cinnamon for grinding into ‘cinnamon powder’.
It is sold on its own or as ‘pudding spice’ in a compound form with nutmeg, clove,
cardamom, mace and allspice. The chips are also sold for the distillation of oil.
Table 12.17 gives the spot prices that prevailed during May 1999 for various grades
of cinnamon and cassia. Sri Lankan cinnamon (Ceylon H-2 cinnamon) fetched higher
price than cassia. Except for ground spices in a few countries, most spices are imported
at zero rates of duty under GSP and other preferential trade agreements. A reduction in
MFN tariffs as outlined in the Uruguay Round may not make a significant change.
Cinnamon fetched peak prices in 1989 averaging US$7.50/kg for the best quality,
but fell to US$5.00/kg in subsequent years. Although the annual average price was
US$1.6/kg during 1998, the best quality Sri Lanka 3/6 inch strips fetched a price of
US$9.2/kg, while the chips of the same lot fetched only US$0.70/kg. In the beginning
of 2001, the average New York price was around US$1.60/kg. In India the
average wholesale price in the Mumbai market was Rs 91/kg, while it was Rs 92.08
for cassia in the Chennai market during the same period. The annual average price
for Ceylon cinnamon in New York market is given in Table 12.18 for the period
1996–2000.
Table 12.17 Differences in prices of various grades of cinnamon and cassia in
the world market (May, 1999)
S. no. Grade/variety Price $/lb
1 Vera C/W ‘AA’ 2-3/4" spot 1.00
2 Korintji ‘A’ 3.00 ML/SVO spot 0.61
3 Korintji ‘A’ 2.75 ML/SVO spot 0.57
4 Korintji ‘B’ 2.50 ML/SVO spot 0.53
5 Korintji ‘B’ 2.25 ML/SVO spot 0.49
6 Korintji ‘C’ 1.50 ML/SVO spot 0.45
7 Korintji ‘C’ 1.00 ML/SVO spot 0.40
8 Chinese 2.75 ML/SVO spot 0.68
9 Vietnamese Cassia A 3.50 ML/SVO spot 1.40
10 Ceylon H-2 Cinnamon Afloat 2.65
Source: Weekly Market Report, AA Sayia & Company, Inc. May, 1999.