John H. Elton, Inc. Spice Brokers Global Services Since 1949
Spice & Commodity Brokers in Greenpoint (Brooklyn), New York
John H. Elton, Inc., is a full service ingredient brokerage house specializing in herbs, spices, dried fruits and nuts.
Proud Member of:
American Spice Trade Association (ASTA)
©2025 John H. Elton Inc. New York, NY USA
Aug 1, 2025
Tariffs - It is August 1st and it appears that both tariffs from countries who have negotiated an agreement as well as those who fall under the short term reprieve will all start on August 7th - but this is not quite clear. To date most of the spices arrived in the U.S. have not been paying the "country" tariffs, but have been paying the base 10%. This will all change/increase in the near future as the final country levels are finalized. ASTA is regularly updating their tariff tracker for countries from which many spices originate.
Here is the link - https://astaspice.org/resources/tariff-tracker-july-23-2025 (subscription needed)
Pepper
As pepper is sourced from various countries origin shippers have been closely monitoring the comparitive rates - principally Vietnam vs Brazil - and market moves have been influenced by this. Earlier in the week common sentiment in Vietnam was that the equation had been finalized to their advantage, and their market advanced. Since then uncertainty has returned and now we see widespread variance in both Vietnamese offers and also sentiment there as to the direction in which the market is moving. There is strength of the spot U.S. market in comparison to origin offers, and this seems to be as a result of fewer imports over the last number of months.
Other Spices:
There is demand for ANNATTO and firmer quotes from origins. After an inactive period there are more buyers for spot and nearby shipments of CARDAMOM; Guatemala has limited quantities remaining from last crop. Canadian CORIANDER acres were down this year and the crop is now being hampered by dry conditions. The Indian CUMIN market is stagnant at low levels; China's crop has started and that market is seeing good interest. The U.S. principally sources PINK PEPPERCORNS from Brazil; the crop is arriving now, but buyers are investigating alternatives because of the current proposed high tariff.
JHE IS NOW USDA ORGANIC CERTIFIED