FAQs

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COMTELL will soon be discontinued for all users, following a personalized timeline based on your transition date—typically within a month. You’ll receive notifications within COMTELL and by email before your access ends. For updates, questions, or feedback, please stay in touch with your Expana account team.

We’ll be retiring the COMTELL platform to give you access to a more powerful experience with Expana. Built from the ground up, Expana combines the best of our legacy platforms – Urner Barry, Mintec and Feedinfo – into one unified solution. It delivers broader data coverage, smarter features and advanced tools that simply weren’t possible on the older platforms. You will be given a few weeks notice before we turn off the Urner Barry platform.

Price data is typically updated weekly, with ongoing commentary and analysis during major harvest and export periods.

Yes. Our data supports cost modelling for seasoning mixes, chilli sauces, frozen meals, and spice-forward ready-to-eat products.

They’re used in spice blends, sauces, seasonings, hot sauces, ready meals, and marinades. They’re also used in non-food applications like traditional remedies and some cosmetic products.

We track whole chillies (by origin and variety), crushed variants including powder and flakes, and some related capsicum-based products where relevant to cost modelling and procurement.

Prices are influenced by climate conditions during harvest, pest infestations, post-harvest drying quality, logistics bottlenecks, and food safety standards such as pesticide residue levels.

India is the dominant producer and exporter, followed by China and Mexico. Indian regions like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana lead domestic production, with key export markets in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

It reflects export pricing from major producing countries like India and China, as well as transport costs, currency fluctuations, and supply-demand shifts across global trade lanes.

Cardamom benchmarks are updated on a regular basis—monthly for most series. Editorial commentary is provided to explain price movements and seasonal trends.

Yes. Our platform supports cost modelling for products such as spiced snacks, herbal teas, baked goods, and blended spice mixes. Get more information about cost modelling features.

Cardamom is widely used in baked goods, sweets, curries, flavoured teas and coffees. In Middle Eastern markets, it is also used in spiced rice and desserts. Some varieties are processed into powder or essential oils.

Yes. We cover multiple grades including Bold, Super Bold, and Split pods. Our data includes both whole pods and seeds used in food and non-food applications such as traditional medicine.

Key factors include rainfall levels, fungal disease outbreaks, pest issues, availability of labour, and drying methods. Market prices are also sensitive to currency fluctuations, regional political stability, and demand surges during religious or cultural holidays.

We provide benchmark data for cardamom sourced from Guatemala and India—together responsible for nearly 65% of global production. Pricing includes CIF Europe, ex-warehouse US, and FOB export levels.

Cardamom prices reflect a combination of farmgate costs, harvesting frequency, weather impacts, export volumes, and demand from key markets like the Middle East.

Absolutely. Our forecasts incorporate trade data, macro trends, landing volumes, and pricing momentum. Learn more about our forecasting features.

Prices are refreshed weekly, with editorial insight for any major shifts, regulatory news, or logistical developments.

Yes. We support cost modelling for lobster-forward dishes like lobster rolls. See our Cost Model tools to track ingredient and input costs over time.

Key factors include:

• Landings and harvest cycles
• Ocean temperatures and weather
• Trade policy and tariffs
• Freight and air cargo costs
• Inventories and demand peaks (e.g. holidays, tourism)
• Regulatory updates and sustainability standards

Lobsters are generally sold and consumed in cooked form—live or as processed tails or meat. Finished products include restaurant dishes, frozen meals, lobster rolls, and premium seafood mixes.