**An Indonesian seaweed bale supplier ships dried Eucheuma cottonii pressed into bales wrapped in polypropylene cloth and packed in 50 kg or 100 kg bags. A 40ft high-cube holds roughly 350 bales — about 25 MT net. Bali Premium Trip coordinates baled supply from vetted Sulawesi, NTT and NTB farms, quoted on your spec and MOQ.**
Buyers who care about bale format are usually stuffing containers, planning warehouse handling, or matching an existing processing line. This page lays out how Indonesian cottonii (Kappaphycus alvarezii, local names cottonii / sakul) is baled, how it loads, and what a landed unit costs.
What does “baled” seaweed actually mean?
Dried cottonii leaves the farm loose, light and bulky. Before export it is sun-dried, sorted to remove foreign matter, then compressed and wrapped in woven polypropylene (PP) cloth to form a bale. Each bale is bagged at either 50 kg or 100 kg — the two formats quoted across most Indonesian exporters.
Baling does three practical things: it shields the seaweed from moisture pickup and contamination, it standardises handling for forklifts and container stuffing, and it lets a processor count landed volume in clean, repeatable units. Stored cool, dry, sealed and out of direct sunlight, baled dried cottonii holds a shelf life of roughly 12 months.
How many bales fit in a container?
Dried seaweed is low-density, so a container usually “cubes out” — fills by volume — before it hits maximum payload. That is why bale count and net weight do not multiply cleanly.
| Container | Approx. net weight | Indicative bale volume |
|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | ~15 MT | volume-limited by cube |
| 40ft standard | ~23 MT | volume-limited by cube |
| 40ft high-cube (40HC) | ~25 MT | ~350 bales |
Because cottonii is bulky and light, a 40HC reaches its practical net weight near 25 MT even though it swallows around 350 bales. Loading terms offered are FOB, CIF or CNF, shipped worldwide. Some exporters run multiple FCL per month; treat any monthly-capacity figure as indicative only — it moves with harvest cycles and drying weather, so we confirm your allocation per order.
What grades and prices apply to baled cottonii?
Price follows grade, which follows moisture and cleanliness. The band below is what we quote for raw dried cottonii and for cleaned, washed food-grade material.
| Grade | Typical moisture / impurity | FOB indicative (per 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Commodity / salted | higher moisture ~37–39% | USD 4–7 / kg |
| Standard dried | ~35–37% moisture | USD 6–9 / kg |
| Higher-grade, low-moisture clean | under ~35% moisture | USD 9–12 / kg |
| Cleaned / washed food-grade bulk | batch-specified | USD 25–55 / kg |
These are FOB indicative figures per 2026; they move with harvest, moisture and grade, and the final quote is confirmed against your spec and MOQ. Branded Western retail sea moss sells far higher, but that is a finished consumer product — not our FOB wholesale quote.
Documented trader specs for baled dried cottonii vary. Published examples range from moisture 35–37% with foreign matter 3% max, to sun-dried lots at 35–37% moisture with impurity 5% max, to a premium “Dried Raw Algae Grade A” under 35% moisture and impurities below 2% (Grade A and B selections). Any moisture, ash, foreign-matter, microbiological, heavy-metal or carrageenan-yield figure is claimable only from a specific batch Certificate of Analysis — we quote your spec, then verify it against the COA of the lot you buy.
How does baled ordering work?
A clean path from enquiry to loaded container, with a target response inside 24 working hours.
- Share spec and volume. Tell us grade, target moisture and impurity ceilings, bale size (50 kg or 100 kg), and quantity — a 1 MT trial or a 20–100 MT contract.
- Sample and COA. We arrange a representative sample and the batch Certificate of Analysis so you can verify moisture, foreign matter and, where relevant, carrageenan yield before committing.
- Quote and terms. You receive an FOB/CIF/CNF quote inside the band above, plus payment terms — T/T, 100% irrevocable LC at sight, or 100% advance.
- Contract and payment. Spec, bale format, MOQ and Incoterm are locked in writing.
- Baling, loading and shipping. Delivery is typically 30–60 days after payment is approved. Documents accompany the shipment: Certificate of Analysis, MSDS, Fumigation Certificate, Phytosanitary Certificate and Certificate of Origin; Halal and HACCP / ISO 22000 supplied on request.
Where do the bales come from?
Indonesia is described by industry sources as the world’s largest producer of red seaweeds, and cottonii — cultivable here since 1974 — is farmed by the longline method, using plastic rope tied to lines anchored to poles on the seabed. In warm tropical Indonesian waters the crop can reach about ten times its mass in 45–50 days.
We source baled supply concretely from South Sulawesi (Bone, Maros, Jeneponto, Takalar, Luwu and East Luwu), West and East Nusa Tenggara (NTB and NTT), West Lombok, Maluku and North Kalimantan, with Surabaya and East Java acting as the main processing and export gateway. Bali functions as a sourcing and logistics hub, not a large production zone. Seasonality is real: monsoon rains lengthen sun-drying and lift moisture, while ice-ice disease and epiphytes can affect yield and cleanliness in a given harvest — which is exactly why spec confirmation per batch matters.
Request a baled supply quote
Bali Premium Trip runs the sourcing desk for Indonesia Sea Moss, coordinating baled cottonii through vetted farms and processors — we broker and verify supply rather than owning the asset. Send your grade, bale size, moisture ceiling and target volume, and we return an indicative FOB quote and available loading window.
- WhatsApp: 6281128590000
- Email: sales@balipremiumtrip.com
- Response: within 24 working hours
Sea moss is a food ingredient, not medicine — we make no disease-cure claims, cannot guarantee customs clearance, and never attach a fixed price to a named third party. Figures are indicative, dated to 2026, and subject to change with the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Indonesian seaweed bales packaged for export?
Dried cottonii is sorted, compressed and wrapped in woven polypropylene cloth to form a bale, then bagged at either 50 kg or 100 kg — the two standard formats. This protects against moisture and contamination, standardises forklift and container handling, and gives buyers clean, countable landed units for their processing line.
How many 100 kg seaweed bales fit in a 40ft high-cube container?
A 40HC typically takes around 350 bales and loads out near 25 MT net. Dried seaweed is bulky and light, so the container fills by volume before it reaches maximum payload — meaning bale count and tonnage don’t multiply cleanly. A 20ft runs about 15 MT and a 40ft standard about 23 MT.
What is the shelf life of baled dried cottonii seaweed?
Baled dried cottonii holds a shelf life of about 12 months when stored cool, dry, sealed and away from direct sunlight. Moisture is the main risk: bales left in humid or exposed conditions can gain moisture and degrade faster, which is why PP-cloth wrapping and correct warehousing matter for both weight integrity and quality.
Can I order a small trial before committing to a full container?
Yes. Typical minimums start at a 1 MT trial and rise to 20–100 MT contracts, with a container holding roughly 20–25 MT. A trial lets you verify bale format, moisture and cleanliness against the batch Certificate of Analysis before scaling. Share your spec via WhatsApp 6281128590000 and we quote the trial and contract bands together.
What documents come with a baled cottonii shipment?
Standard export documents are the Certificate of Analysis (COA), Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Fumigation Certificate, Phytosanitary Certificate and Certificate of Origin (COO). Halal and HACCP / ISO 22000 certification are supplied on request. Trade terms are FOB, CIF or CNF, with delivery typically 30–60 days after payment is approved.
Part of Juara Holding Group — an Indonesian group operating from Bali across Indonesia since 2015.