Cinnamon Farming in India 2026

True cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a realistic small-holder crop in India only in the humid, high-rainfall belt of the Western Ghats foothills, mainly Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It is hardy and easy to grow, but yields are small and slow: about 200 to 250 kg of dry quills per hectare (80 to 100 kg per acre) from the third to fifth year, so it works best as a side crop on homestead or plantation land rather than as a stand-alone income.

India's cinnamon trade is small and competes with Sri Lankan quills and cheaper cassia. No verified farm-gate price for Indian quills was found, so work out your buyer and price before planting more than a trial block.

Where it grows in India

• Region: ICAR-IISR describes cinnamon as grown in the lower elevations of the Western Ghats, particularly Kerala and Tamil Nadu; Karnataka also grows it.
• Rainfall: 150 to 250 cm a year (TNAU); 200 to 250 cm is called ideal (KAU). It is mostly a rainfed crop.
• Altitude: TNAU gives 800 to 1,000 m for its region; KAU says it does well from sea level up to about 1,800 m. Good growth is reported across a wide range, provided rain is high.
• Soil: deep, well-drained sandy or lateritic soil rich in humus.

Varieties

TNAU also lists YCD 1, PPI-1 and Konkan Tej. Buy planting material from IISR, a state agricultural university or a Spices Board-recognised nursery.

Planting and spacing

• Propagation: semi-hardwood cuttings about 10 cm long with 2 leaves, dipped in 2,000 ppm IBA and rooted in polythene bags of sand or sand and coir dust (1:1) in shade.
• Spacing: TNAU and KAU both give 2 m x 2 m in 60 x 60 x 60 cm pits. That is about 1,010 plants per acre (2,500 per hectare).
• Plants are grown as low bushes and cut back, so new shoots keep coming for bark.

Nutrition

At full dose on 1,010 plants that is about 200 kg of nitrogen per acre a year. Split it into two doses with the rains, and see fertilizers for products. Ages 3 to 9 step up between these values; follow the full schedule of your state agricultural university.

Pests and diseases

• TNAU lists shoot borer; ask your KVK or state agriculture department for a currently registered product and follow the label. KAU lists cinnamon butterfly and leaf miner (quinalphos 0.05% spray) and leaf spot (1% Bordeaux mixture in the monsoon).
• Older package sheets may name chemicals since withdrawn. Follow the current label and ask your local KVK for the permitted product before spraying; see pests.

Harvest, yield and processing

• First harvest: about 3 years (KAU) to 4 to 5 years (TNAU) after planting. Shoots are cut twice a year, around May and November (TNAU).
• Which shoots: TNAU peels shoots 18 to 24 months old, about 1 m long and 1 to 2 cm thick. KAU states 2 to 2.5 cm thick and 1.5 to 2 m long.
• Yield: TNAU reports about 100 g dry bark per bush, which at 2,500 bushes is about 250 kg per hectare (100 kg per acre), and 35 kg leaf oil per hectare a year. KAU gives Navasree 250 kg and Nithyasree 200 kg dry quills per hectare.
• Processing: the outer bark is scraped off, the inner bark peeled in strips, rolled into quills and dried in shade. Skill in peeling and rolling decides the grade, so learn from an experienced peeler.
• Reported oil yields: bark oil 0.2 to 0.5%, leaf oil 0.5 to 0.7%, oleoresin 10 to 12% (KAU).

Cost and returns

• Price: no verified farm-gate price for Indian quills was found. India's average export unit price for cinnamon was about US$7.8 per kg (around ₹646) in 2024 on 603 tonnes exported, a figure that mixes grades and includes re-exports, so a grower should expect to receive less. Check current rates with the Spices Board or a local trader.
• Arithmetic (ceiling, not a promise): 100 kg of quills per acre x ₹646 = about ₹64,600 per acre a year at the export price. At half that price it is about ₹32,000. Leaf oil from Sugandhini (about 125 kg per hectare, 50 kg per acre) is extra, but no oil price was verified.
• Establishment cost is mostly plants (about 1,010 per acre), pits, manure and labour; no verified per-acre figure was found. Returns begin only after year 3 to 5, so it suits growers with other income.

Market and risks

• Sri Lanka supplies about 80% of world cinnamon exports by value, and cassia, the bark of related species, is also sold as cinnamon. Indian growers face that competition, so confirm a local buyer first.
• Selling through a group can lower transport and trading costs: see FPO, export buyers and subsidy finder. Ask the Spices Board regional office or your state horticulture department whether a planting or post-harvest scheme currently covers cinnamon.

Sources

• TNAU Agritech Portal, cinnamon
• Kerala Agricultural University, cinnamon know-how
• ICAR-IISR, cinnamon
• Vikaspedia, cinnamon package of practices
• Selina Wamucii, India cinnamon export price (UN Comtrade based, secondary source)