Amber natural gum oozing in strands from a tree branch

Representative photo. Your order is made to your specification by a verified seller. Photo: “Natural gum from Neem tree, India” by Rabsum, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Food and agro · Betel leaves and plant products

Natural gum exporter in Bangladesh

Looking for a natural gum exporter in Bangladesh? Tell us the gum, its E number, form, use, quantity and market. We source from verified sellers, confirm where the gum was grown, check the lab report on your lot and deliver locally or ship FOB Chattogram.

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

Buying natural gums in Bangladesh

Natural gums are plant polysaccharides that thicken water, often strongly even at small doses. Food, drink, pharmaceutical and cosmetic makers use them as thickeners, stabilisers, emulsifiers and binders. Gum arabic, karaya and tragacanth are dried tree exudates; guar is ground from a seed. They are not interchangeable, so an order starts with the botanical source.

None of these gums is known as a Bangladeshi crop, and gum sold here is usually imported. A natural gum exporter in Bangladesh should state that origin plainly. Roptan does, writes the gum, grade and limits into the order, checks the lab report on your lot and hands the goods to you or the shipping line.

Kinds of natural gum

Gum arabic (E414)

Dried exudate of Acacia senegal or closely related acacias such as Acacia seyal, as tears, fragments, granules or spray-dried powder. It dissolves in cold water to a solution that still flows readily.

Gum karaya (E416)

Dried exudate of Sterculia species, as tears, broken pieces or powder, used as a thickener and emulsifier. It swells in dilute ethanol, a test that tells it from other gums.

Gum tragacanth (E413)

Dried exudate of Asiatic Astragalus species, in flat, ribbon-like or twisted pieces, white to pale yellow. It swells in water to a stiff mucilage rather than dissolving.

Guar gum (E412)

The ground endosperm of the guar seed, a powder that dissolves in cold water. A seed gum, not an exudate; India usually grows most of the world crop. Usually graded by viscosity.

How to brief a natural gum exporter in Bangladesh

Gum and E number: Name the gum and, for food, its E number. Exudate and seed gums behave differently, and one cannot simply replace another.
Form: Tears, fragments, granules, powder or spray-dried powder, with a particle size if your process doses the gum dry.
Job in your product: Thickener, stabiliser, emulsifier or binder, at what dose and in what liquid, so the seller can confirm the fit.
Viscosity for guar: State viscosity with its concentration, temperature and test method. The EU additive specification sets no viscosity figure, so the order must.
Moisture and ash: Loss on drying, total ash and acid-insoluble ash, each with a limit. For food use, the EU additive specification gives a basis.
Microbes and metals: For food, Salmonella and E. coli absent in a stated sample weight, and heavy metals reported for your lot.
Origin: The country where the gum was grown, on the quote and the certificate of origin.

Specifications and papers for natural gums

Regulation (EU) No 231/2012: Identity and purity criteria for each gum additive, from solubility to ash and heavy metals. It has been amended, so test against the current text.
Identity tests: For gum arabic: no starch, dextrin or tannin, and none of the sugars that mark other gums mixed in. Such tests catch blends sold as a single gum.
Microbiological limits: The EU acacia gum specification requires Salmonella and E. coli to be absent in set sample weights. Food buyers usually copy this into the purchase terms.
Phytosanitary certificate: Listed for the gum arabic and natural gums and resins export lines, issued by the Plant Quarantine Wing of the DAE, with no other plant product mixed in.

What to match when comparing natural gum quotes

The gum: arabic, karaya, tragacanth and guar are different products, so compare like with like.
Form: tears, granules and spray-dried powder involve different processing, so quote one form.
Purity: limits on ash, insoluble matter and microbes, and who pays for tests.
Viscosity, for guar: the same weight at a higher viscosity grade is a different product.
Origin: imported gum carries freight into Bangladesh before it moves on to you.

Lead times and delivery

Timing depends on whether the seller holds your gum and grade in stock or must import it, and on the tests your lot needs. 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 quantity in the quote.

Inside Bangladesh we deliver gums to food, drink, pharmaceutical and cosmetic makers by covered truck or courier, in sealed bags or drums marked with the lot number, with the lab report and a VAT invoice (Mushak 6.3). A sample can go to your laboratory first.

Buying natural gums for export

Gum shipped abroad from Bangladesh is usually imported material moving on, and the export data shows gums only in a mixed basket, 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 where the gum grew, a phytosanitary certificate and the lot's lab report.

What we check for this order

Source plant on paperThe gum and its botanical source stated on the quote, invoice and lab report, so no other gum is swapped in.
Solution behaviourA sample put in water as your order expects: arabic dissolves and flows, tragacanth swells to a stiff mucilage, guar dissolves in cold water.
Lab report on your lotMoisture, total and acid-insoluble ash, starch, microbes and heavy metals tested on the lot you receive.
Origin and certificateCountry of origin confirmed, and the phytosanitary certificate listing every product shipped, with no other plant goods mixed in.

Questions buyers ask

Is gum arabic produced in Bangladesh?

Not as a crop. Gum arabic is the dried exudate of Acacia senegal and closely related acacias, which grow mainly across the Sahel in Africa. Gum arabic offered in Bangladesh is imported, so ask for the country of origin and match it on the certificate of origin.

How do I tell gum tragacanth from karaya?

They look alike, and karaya has been used to adulterate tragacanth. Tragacanth swells in water to a stiff mucilage; karaya swells in dilute ethanol and carries acetyl groups, measured as volatile acid. Ask for identity tests against the EU specification on your lot; its tragacanth entry includes a test for karaya.

Why does a guar order need a viscosity figure?

Viscosity is how guar is usually graded, but the EU additive specification sets no figure for it. State the viscosity with its concentration, temperature and test method, or two lots sold as the same gum can behave differently in your process.

Which tests should a food-grade gum lot carry?

Usually moisture, total and acid-insoluble ash, identity tests, Salmonella, E. coli and heavy metals, judged against the EU additive specification or your market's rules. We have them done on a sample from your lot.

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.