Frozen Spinach & Frozen Okra (Leaf, Chopped, Portions; Whole and Cut Okra)

Leaf, cut-leaf and chopped spinach in portions or blocks, and IQF whole or cut okra

Frozen spinach and frozen okra sit in two different customs lines and two different kitchens, but they share a buyer: the importer-distributor supplying Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian cooking, where both are staples. Frozen spinach is HS 0710.30. The Codex standard for quick frozen spinach (CXS 77-1981) defines the styles - whole spinach with the root removed, leaf spinach, cut-leaf spinach in pieces generally larger than 20 mm, chopped spinach in pieces generally under 10 mm, and puree with particles under 3 mm - and sets mineral impurities such as sand and grit at no more than 0.1% and salt-free dry matter at no less than 5.5%, with tolerances for discoloured leaves, flower stems, crown and root material and extraneous vegetable matter. Leaf spinach is often IQF; chopped spinach and puree are commonly frozen in portions or blocks that go straight into a pot. Frozen okra has no HS subheading of its own and is declared under HS 0710.80 (other vegetables, frozen); in the EU tariff it falls under CN 0710 80 95. It is sold whole with the stem trimmed or cut into rounds, IQF, size-graded by pod length as the contract states. Residue control decides market access for okra: under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/194, fresh, chilled or frozen okra from India remains under increased EU border checks for pesticide residues at 30% of consignments, so EU-bound lots are tested against the maximum residue limits of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 before loading. Both vegetables are blanched before freezing, product counts as quick frozen once the thermal centre reaches -18 °C, and Listeria control after the blancher is audited: EFSA and ECDC found outbreak strains in frozen spinach products during the 2015-2018 frozen-vegetable Listeria investigation.

UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 0710.30 (spinach, frozen) total USD 361 million and about 336,000 MT across 73 reporters: Belgium USD 117 million and 119,800 MT at an average USD 976/MT, China USD 104 million and 102,600 MT, Spain USD 31 million, Mexico USD 21 million and 10,100 MT at USD 2,051/MT, the Netherlands USD 19 million, France USD 15 million, Poland USD 6 million and Türkiye USD 5 million. China's frozen spinach goes largely to Japan (54,900 MT) and the USA (23,700 MT). HS 0710.80 is much wider - it covers every frozen vegetable without its own line - at USD 4.87 billion across 101 reporters, so it cannot be read as an okra figure; within it Egypt declared USD 199 million and 122,000 MT, with Saudi Arabia (18,600 MT), the USA (12,700 MT), Italy (12,400 MT) and the UAE (5,200 MT) among its destinations, and Egyptian exporters ship frozen okra and molokhia under that line. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers frozen spinach from freezers in Belgium, China, Spain, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland and Türkiye, and frozen okra from Egypt and India, against the processor's certificate of analysis for style, grit, defects, pesticide residues and microbiology, the plant's BRCGS or IFS certificate, a halal certificate per lot where the destination requires one, a certificate of origin, a health certificate from the origin authority and a phytosanitary certificate where the destination's rules call for one. Retail bags, portion packs, 10 kg catering cartons or 20 kg bulk cartons move in 40-ft high-cube reefers at -18 °C on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, with the shelf life stated by the processor. Send the vegetable, style or cut, IQF or portions, pack, volume and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.