Furniture, wood & rattan
Indonesian hardwood charcoal
Hardwood charcoal is made by carbonising wood, and it burns and looks nothing like the coconut shell briquettes Indonesia is better known for. Because it starts as timber, it carries the same legality paperwork as any other Indonesian wood product.
How it leaves the country.
- Lump charcoal
- Irregular pieces from carbonised wood, for grilling. Sold on species, size distribution and ash.
- Briquettes
- Compressed from charcoal fines, with a binder. A different burn profile and a different buyer.
- Sawdust briquettes
- From wood residue rather than lump, often hexagonal. Cheaper and distinct again.
How it is graded.
There is no published grade table, and the seller-invented names that plague coconut briquettes appear here too. Contract on analysis and on species.
- Name the species
- Different hardwoods burn differently and are worth different money. It is also what the legality documentation attaches to.
- What to specify
- Species, ash content, fixed carbon, moisture, volatile matter, size distribution and fines allowance.
- Legality
- V-Legal document under SVLK, required for every wood product leaving Indonesia, for every destination1
How it is packed.
- Bags and boxes
- Fines are generated by handling and are the hidden cost. The number of transfers matters more than the bag.
- Sea carriage
- Charcoal is treated as regulated cargo for sea transport in some forms and by some carriers. Settle the classification before booking.
Where it grows.
East Java
Java
Production close to the export ports, working with plantation and residue timber.
South Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Kilns feeding both domestic demand and export.
Kalimantan
Borneo
Closer to the raw material, further from the ports.
Choosing between this and something else.
Documentation, where applicable.
- V-Legal document
- Issued under SVLK. Required for wood products to every export destination.1
- EUDR due diligence statement
- For the EU only. Wood is a listed commodity and charcoal is a derived product.2
- Certificate of analysis
- Ash, fixed carbon, moisture and volatile matter on the lot that shipped.
- Safety data sheet
- Needed by the carrier, because it drives how the consignment is classified in transit.
Questions buyers ask.
Is this the same as coconut charcoal?
No. Coconut shell briquettes are made from a waste stream and dominate the shisha trade. Hardwood charcoal is carbonised timber for grilling, with a different burn, a different buyer and its own legality paperwork.
Why does species matter?
Because burn time and ash follow the wood, and because the legality documentation attaches to the timber. A supplier who cannot name the species can probably not document it either.
Is charcoal covered by EUDR?
Wood is a listed commodity and charcoal is derived from it, so for the European Union the answer is yes. That is a change many charcoal buyers have not yet absorbed.
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.
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
- 1SVLK, Indonesia's timber legality assurance system. FLEGT licence information service. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR). European Commission. Checked 3 August 2026.