Shellac flakes in three shades on a white surface

Representative photo. Your order is made to your specification by a verified seller. Photo: “Shellac three colours” by Simon A. Eugster, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Food and agro · Betel leaves and plant products

Lac and shellac exporter in Bangladesh

Need a lac and shellac exporter in Bangladesh? Tell us the form, grade, colour, wax content, use and quantity. We source from verified sellers, confirm the origin of each lot, check a sample against your grade and deliver locally or ship FOB Chattogram.

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Delivered by Roptan

Prefer to deal with suppliers yourself? Post it on the requirement board

Buying lac and shellac in Bangladesh

Lac is the resin that a scale insect, Kerria lacca, secretes on host trees, usually palas, kusum or ber. The coated twigs are harvested as sticklac, crushed and sieved into seedlac, then usually refined by heat or solvent into shellac. Furniture finishers, confectioners and tablet makers buy it as a finish, glaze or coating.

Grade names on offers vary from seller to seller, so ask any lac and shellac exporter in Bangladesh for the standard grade letter and where the lac was grown. Roptan states the origin of each lot, writes the grade and limits into the order, checks a sample and hands the goods to you or the shipping line.

Kinds of lac and shellac

Sticklac

The raw resin crust on cut twigs, as harvested. Choose it only if you clean and refine the lac yourself.

Seedlac

Sticklac crushed and sieved into grains, usually still carrying a few percent of impurity. Choose it if you refine your own shellac.

Waxy shellac

Refined shellac with its natural lac wax, sold as flakes, sheets or buttons. It usually looks milky in solution. Choose it for finishes with no topcoat.

Dewaxed shellac

Shellac with the wax removed, so the solution is clearer and a topcoat usually bonds better. Choose it as a sealer under other finishes.

Bleached shellac (E904)

Purified and bleached lac, off-white, or light yellow when also wax-free. As food additive E904 it is mostly used to glaze confectionery and pills.

How to brief a lac and shellac exporter in Bangladesh

Form: Sticklac, seedlac, or shellac as flakes, sheets or buttons. Say which, because "shellac" on an enquiry can mean any of them.
Grade letter: Indian Standard IS 16 (Part 1) sets six grades of hand-made shellac, Special and A to E. Give the letter, since a trade name alone is not a specification.
Hot alcohol insoluble matter: The main grading test, in percent by mass: at most 0.75 for Special, rising to 3.0 for grade E. Name the test method on the order.
Colour and wax: A colour index maximum, measured by the IS 6921 method, and waxy or dewaxed. Graded shellac may carry no added colouring matter.
Purity limits: No rosin, and no orpiment unless a figure is agreed. Water-soluble matter at most 0.5 percent and volatile matter at most 2.0 percent are optional limits, so write them in.
Food and tablet use: State acid value and lead content, which the standard leaves to agreement, as it does flow and heat polymerisation time. For food it prefers an acid value of 73 to 89.
Sample and origin: An approved sample for colour and appearance, and the country where the lac was grown and refined.

Standards and papers for shellac

IS 16 (Part 1): 2008: The Indian Standard for hand-made shellac: grades and limits for insoluble matter, colour, rosin and moisture. Check for a later edition before you contract.
IS 6921: Methods of sampling and testing lac and lac products, used for insoluble matter, ash, colour, flow and acid value. It allows more than one method, so name one.
EU specification for E904: Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 sets acid value, wax, rosin and lead limits for bleached shellac. It has been amended, so ask for results against the current text.
Phytosanitary certificate: Listed for the natural gums and resins export line and issued by the Plant Quarantine Wing of the DAE. Lac has no separate customs sheet, so confirm it with the Wing.

What to match when comparing shellac quotes

Grade letter: Special allows a quarter of the insoluble matter grade E does, so quotes on different grades do not compare.
Processing: dewaxing and bleaching are steps beyond refining, so compare waxy with waxy and bleached with bleached.
Form: sticklac, seedlac and shellac sit at different stages of cleaning and refining.
Use: food and tablet orders need acid value, lead and rosin results that a wood finish may not.

Lead times and delivery

No standard dispatch time applies. Shellac in stock moves faster than lac refined, dewaxed or bleached to order, and lac brought in from abroad adds transit. For export, the phytosanitary certificate for dry plant goods usually has to be applied for at least 15 days before shipment. Roptan confirms the dates and the minimum in the quote.

Inside Bangladesh we deliver shellac to furniture finishers, confectioners and tablet coaters by covered truck or courier, in sealed, dry packing marked with the grade and lot, with the test report and a VAT invoice (Mushak 6.3).

Buying lac and shellac for export

Bangladesh's export data has no lac line, only a small pooled figure for gums and resins, so treat an order as bespoke. The seller, holding an ERC, ships FOB Chattogram (Chittagong) through a designated exit point, with invoice, packing list, a certificate of origin naming the true origin, a phytosanitary certificate where required and a test report against your grade.

What we check for this order

Grade against a reportHot alcohol insoluble matter, colour and wax tested on your lot and read against the grade letter ordered.
No rosinThe Indian Standard allows no rosin in graded shellac and the E904 text requires its absence, so the report must show it.
Approved sampleColour and appearance matched to the sample you approved, since lac changes with the host tree and insect strain.
Origin and papersCountry of origin, the phytosanitary position and, for food use, E904 results, confirmed before the goods leave.

Questions buyers ask

Does Bangladesh produce shellac?

Not on a scale its export data shows, and much of the world's lac comes from India. Ask any seller where the lot was grown and refined. We state the origin in the quote and on the certificate of origin.

What is the difference between seedlac and shellac?

Seedlac is sticklac crushed and sieved, with a few percent of impurity left. Shellac is usually seedlac refined by heat or solvent, and is sold as flakes, sheets or buttons. Order seedlac only if you refine it yourself.

Should I buy waxy or dewaxed shellac?

Dewaxed, if anything goes on top of it, because lac wax can stop a topcoat bonding. Waxy shellac usually looks milky in solution and suits a finish left as it is. For food glazes, specify bleached shellac to E904.

Is shellac vegan or halal?

Lac is secreted by an insect, so many vegan buyers exclude it. Halal or kosher status needs a certificate for the lot from a recognised certifier; ask for it in your enquiry and we check it before ordering.

How soon will I hear back about betel leaves and plant products?

Within 48 hours of a complete requirement, with a price and a delivery date. A requirement is complete when it has the quantity, where it is needed and by when.

Who do I deal with?

With Roptan, when Roptan manages the order: we buy from the verified seller and deliver to you. With the supplier directly, when you post on the requirement board and choose a quote yourself.