.png)
A practical checklist for international buyers evaluating a new Indian supplier — what to ask for, what to verify, and the red flags to watch out for before placing your first order.
If you are planning your first order from an Indian agro commodity exporter — guar gum, spices, pulses, sesame, or specialty ingredients — this checklist walks through what to verify before you issue a purchase order. Spend an hour on these checks and you avoid 90% of first-order problems.
Every legitimate Indian exporter has a 10-digit Importer Exporter Code (IEC) issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Ask for it, then verify it on the DGFT website (dgft.gov.in). If the exporter cannot produce an IEC, they cannot legally export from India. This is a hard requirement — no exceptions.
For agricultural commodity exporters, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) registration is standard practice. APEDA-registered exporters appear in the public APEDA Agri Exchange directory. If an exporter claims to ship agro products but has no APEDA registration, that's a yellow flag.
If you're buying anything that will enter the human food chain — spices, pulses, sesame, food-grade guar gum — the exporter must hold a valid FSSAI license. Ask for the license copy and verify the number on the FSSAI public portal (fssai.gov.in). The license grade (central or state) and the valid-from and valid-till dates matter.
Beyond mandatory IEC/APEDA/FSSAI, serious exporters hold at least one of: HACCP, ISO 22000, ISO 9001, HALAL, Kosher, and for organic buyers NPOP / USDA Organic / EU Organic / JAS. Request the certification copies and check validity dates. A fresh certificate (issued in the last 12 months) with a reputable auditing body (SGS, Bureau Veritas, TUV, Intertek) is a strong positive signal.
Before your first full-FCL order, ask for recent photos of the facility (production hall, QC lab, warehouse, loading area) and schedule a 30-minute video call where the exporter walks you through the facility live. Serious exporters welcome this; "trading houses" that don't own production will deflect or send stock photos. Look for: clean floors, pallet-stacked packaged goods, visible safety signage, QC lab equipment, and employee uniforms.
Beneficiary bank fraud is the single most common export scam. Once you have the proforma invoice, call the Indian bank directly (not the number on the invoice — look up the branch's actual phone number) and confirm the account name, number, and SWIFT code match. Pay only to the registered company name — never to an individual's personal account.
Every Indian company has a Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN). Verify it on the GST portal (gst.gov.in). The GSTIN must match the company name on the proforma invoice.
Ask for 2-3 existing buyer references, ideally from your region or from a comparable buyer type (same product, same volume). Call or email the reference directly and ask: "How long have you worked with them? Have shipments arrived on spec and on time? Any issues?" An exporter who hesitates to provide references is a red flag.
Insist on a formal product specification sheet signed by the exporter. This document should list every parameter — purity, moisture, mesh, viscosity, oil content, FFA — with ranges and test methods. The spec sheet is the contractual quality basis; vague email descriptions are not enforceable.
Even after all verification, your first order should be a small trial order — one 20ft FCL or less. Full-container-load trials give you real data on packing, documentation, logistics coordination, dispatch timing, and port handover. Scale to larger volumes only after a successful trial shipment.
Indian agro commodities are world-class. The country is the top producer of guar gum, a leading exporter of spices and sesame, and a major source of pulses. But like any large export market, India has both excellent exporters and a small minority of fraudulent operators. Spending one hour running the checklist above eliminates almost all first-order risk.
Have questions about specific documents to request before placing an order with Sunrise Grain? Email our export team and we'll share our complete compliance pack: IEC, APEDA, FSSAI, HACCP, ISO 22000, HALAL, factory photos, and buyer references on request.
Share your product, destination and estimated volume — our team sends a quote, specification sheet and sample plan within 24 hours.
Hand-picked next steps for buyers researching this category.