Essential oils & personal care
Indonesian cajuput oil
Cajuput oil is steam-distilled from the leaves of Melaleuca cajuputi, and in Indonesia it is called minyak kayu putih. Central Maluku and West Nusa Tenggara are the producing regions. Buyers contract it on 1,8-cineole content, which is what the oil is used for.
How it leaves the country.
- Crude oil
- Straight from the still, and how most of the crop trades. Composition follows the leaf and the equipment.
- Redistilled
- Cleaner and more consistent at a higher price, for programmes that cannot absorb batch variation.
- Retail product
- Indonesia sells enormous volumes of it domestically in small bottles. That is a different trade with different packaging and different economics.
How it is graded.
There is a published Indonesian standard for this oil and it does the defining. Contract against it plus a cineole figure and there is little left to disagree about.
- Standard
- SNI 06-3954, cajuput oil1
- Contracted on
- 1,8-cineole content, alongside colour, specific gravity, refractive index and optical rotation.
- Origin belongs on the spec
- Maluku and Nusa Tenggara material differ in composition, so name the region as well as the figure.
How it is packed.
- Containers
- Filled by net weight into lined drums, kept out of light and heat. Composition drifts with poor storage.
- Sampling
- Retain samples on both sides against the shipped batch. On an oil priced by one analytical figure, that is the only reference that settles a dispute.
Where it grows.
Central Maluku
Maluku
The traditional producing region, and the origin the trade name is associated with.
West Nusa Tenggara
Nusa Tenggara
A second producing base with its own composition profile.
Java
Java
Plantation stands and distillation feeding the large domestic retail market.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Certificate of analysis
- Against SNI 06-3954 and the cineole figure in the contract, issued on the batch that shipped.1
- Safety data sheet
- Required by everyone handling the goods downstream, and the basis for how the drum is classified in transit.
- REACH
- For the EU, the registration obligation sits with the importer or an appointed only representative.2
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and on the preference scheme in force between it and Indonesia.
Questions buyers ask.
Is cajuput the same as eucalyptus or tea tree?
All three come from the myrtle family and none of them are interchangeable. Cajuput is Melaleuca cajuputi, tea tree is Melaleuca alternifolia, and eucalyptus is a different genus. Write the botanical name into the order, because the local name kayu putih translates in a way that invites the confusion.
Why does cineole content vary between shipments?
Leaf material varies with season, age and handling, and village distillation is not standardised equipment. Redistillation is what brings a programme onto a consistent figure, and it is why the redistilled product costs more.
Can I buy small quantities to test?
Yes, and you should before committing a programme. Ask for the analysis on the sample batch and keep a retained portion, because a sample that is not linked to a batch number proves nothing later.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Worth reading.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1Indonesian National Standards (SNI). Badan Standardisasi Nasional, Republic of Indonesia. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Entering the European market for essential oils. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.