Agriculture & food
Propolis
Propolis is the resin bees collect from plants and use to seal the hive. Indonesian production comes substantially from stingless bees, whose propolis differs from honeybee propolis in composition, which matters to anyone formulating with it.
How it leaves the country.
- Raw propolis
- Scraped from hives, containing wax and debris. Sold to extractors rather than to end users.
- Extract
- Alcohol or water extracted and standardised. The main traded form and the one with a usable specification.
- Powder
- Dried extract on a carrier, for capsules and tablets.
- Finished products
- Drops, sprays and capsules made in Indonesia, which is a different purchase with registration attached.
How it is graded.
A natural product with variable composition, so identity and standardisation carry the specification.
- Bee species
- Stingless bee propolis differs in composition from honeybee propolis. It belongs in the specification because it changes the product.
- Botanical source
- The plants the resin came from drive the composition, so region and season both matter more than in a manufactured ingredient.
- Standardisation
- Total phenolic or flavonoid content, measured by a stated method. Without it, an extract is not comparable between suppliers.
- Extraction solvent
- Alcohol or water, and residual solvent limits apply where you sell. It also changes what is in the extract.
- Wax and debris
- For raw material, how much of what you bought is not propolis.
- Heavy metals and residues
- Bees forage over a wide area. Testing on the shipped lot rather than a reference.
How it is packed.
- Dark containers
- Light degrades the active compounds. Amber or opaque packaging for extract.
- Temperature
- Raw propolis softens and sticks in heat, and a hot container turns graded material into one mass.
- Food grade throughout
- Where the product is destined for supplements or food, packaging and handling have to match.
- Alcohol content
- For alcohol extracts, the flash point may bring transport classification into the booking.
Where it grows.
Central Java
Java
Stingless bee keeping with an established herbal and supplement industry alongside.
East Java
Java
Bee keeping and extraction capability with a route through Surabaya.
West Java
Java
Production and processing close to Jakarta and to laboratories.
Bali
Bali
Small producers oriented to premium and wellness buyers.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Certificate of analysis
- Standardised phenolic or flavonoid content, residual solvent, heavy metals and microbiology on the shipped lot.
- Health certificate
- A bee product, which several regimes treat as an animal product for import purposes.1
- BPOM registration
- Indonesian regulation covers traditional medicine and supplements domestically.2
- Safety data sheet
- For alcohol extracts, where the classification affects transport.
Questions buyers ask.
Does the bee species matter?
Yes. Stingless bee propolis differs in composition from honeybee propolis, and a formulation developed on one is not automatically the same with the other. Specify the species.
How is it standardised?
By total phenolic or flavonoid content, measured by a stated method. Without both the figure and the method, two suppliers' certificates are not comparable.
What claims can I make?
Whatever your own market permits, which is usually narrower than the marketing you will be shown. Settle the wording before designing a product around a benefit.
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
- 1TRACES modules and features. European Commission, DG Health and Food Safety. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, the food and drug authority. BPOM, Republic of Indonesia. Checked 3 August 2026.