Essential oils & personal care
Gum rosin and turpentine
Gum rosin is what remains after pine oleoresin is distilled. The volatile fraction that comes off is gum turpentine. Indonesian supply comes from Pinus merkusii tapped in managed forest, largely on Java and in North Sumatra, and the trade grades rosin on colour.
How it leaves the country.
- Gum rosin
- The solid residue, sold in drums or bags as broken lumps. The bulk of the trade by value.
- Gum turpentine
- The distilled volatile fraction, a solvent and a feedstock for fragrance chemicals. Shipped in drums as a flammable liquid.
- Derivatives
- Rosin esters, hydrogenated and disproportionated grades. Made by chemical processors rather than by the distillery.
- Crude oleoresin
- The tapped material before distillation. Rarely exported, because moving a sticky semi-solid is worse than moving its two products.
How it is graded.
Rosin is graded on colour, which is a proxy for how the oleoresin was collected and handled. The letter grades in the trade run from pale to dark, and the pale end commands the premium.
- Colour grade
- The primary axis. Pale rosin comes from clean, fresh oleoresin distilled quickly. Dark rosin means contamination, age or heat, and it is what careless collection produces.
- Softening point
- How the material behaves in an adhesive or an ink. Specified as a number and tested, because the colour grade does not predict it.
- Acid number
- Measures the acidic content and matters to formulators. Another number the buyer specifies rather than infers.
- Insoluble matter
- Bark, needles and dirt from the tapping cup. It is filtered at the distillery, and how well tells you about the plant.
- Turpentine composition
- The ratio of the main terpenes decides what the turpentine is useful for downstream. Species and geography drive it.
- Crystallisation
- Rosin can crystallise on storage, which formulators dislike. Handling and grade both contribute.
How it is packed.
- Steel drums or bags
- Rosin is shipped as broken solid in lined drums or heavy bags. It softens in heat, so the pack and the stow both matter crossing the tropics.
- Turpentine as dangerous goods
- A flammable liquid, so it is declared, packed and documented accordingly. This is not optional and it changes the freight.
- Heat in transit
- A dry container in the sun gets hot enough to soften rosin and fuse the lumps. Buyers who have received a solid block know why the stow is discussed.
- Contamination
- Reused drums are a real source of off-specification material. Specify new or certified-clean packaging.
Where it grows.
East and Central Java
Java
Managed Pinus merkusii plantations under state forestry, with distilleries attached to the tapping areas.
North Sumatra
Sumatra
Tapping in the highland pine areas, with processing and a route out through Belawan.
Aceh
Sumatra
Natural and planted pine, with the same species and a less developed processing base.
Who buys this.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Certificate of analysis
- Colour grade, softening point, acid number and insoluble matter on the shipped lot.
- Safety data sheet
- Required for both products, and for turpentine it drives the dangerous goods declaration.
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and the preference scheme in force with Indonesia.
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Where the destination treats it as a plant product, which varies by market and by form.1
Questions buyers ask.
What is rosin actually used for?
Adhesives and tackifiers, printing inks, paper sizing, rubber compounding and a long list of formulated products. It is an industrial input, so buyers specify numbers rather than descriptions.
Does the colour grade tell me enough?
No. Colour correlates with cleanliness and handling, and softening point and acid number are what decide performance in a formulation. Specify all three.
Is turpentine hard to ship?
It is a flammable liquid, so it needs proper classification, packaging and declaration, and not every forwarder wants the work. Establish that early rather than at the booking.
How does Indonesian rosin compare with other origins?
It is the same class of product from a different pine species and a different forest structure. Judge it on the certificate of analysis and on a sample against your formulation rather than on the country.
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
- 1Badan Karantina Indonesia, the national quarantine agency. Republic of Indonesia. Checked 3 August 2026.