Carnauba
Natural exudate wax scraped from the leaves of the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera), native to and commercially harvested almost exclusively in the semi-arid interior of Brazil's Northeast, principally Piaui, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte and Maranhao. Harvesters cut young unopened leaves, sun-dry them, and beat or scrape the surface to release a fine powder of hard wax, sold in that raw powder/flake form as the feedstock that refiners melt, filter and grade into the internationally traded T1-T4 and Amerwax type sorts used in cosmetics, food glazing, pharmaceutical coating, polishes and electronics.
Listed carnauba markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Grades
Colour, purity/impurity content and moisture at first purchase of the raw powder, ahead of refiner melt-filter processing and Amerwax/type classification; purity and identity of refined wax verified against the USP/NF and FCC monographs by melting range, acid value, saponification value and related physicochemical tests.
USP-NF Carnauba Wax Monograph
1 grade
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| USP-NFPharmacopeial-grade refined carnauba wax | Melting range approximately 80-86 degrees C; acid value approximately 2-7 mg KOH/g; saponification value approximately 78-95 mg KOH/g; used as the reference identity/purity test for food, pharma and cosmetic grades |
Traditional trade type sort
2 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| T1-T4Refined type grades | Descending colour/purity tiers from palest, purest T1 to darker, less-refined T4; assigned after melt-filter refining, not at raw powder first purchase |
| RAWPORaw powder/flakes (po/palha) | Unrefined wax as scraped and sun-dried by the harvester, prior to any melt-filtration or type sort; graded informally by colour, visible impurity and moisture only |
There is no shared trading-desk grade standard applied at the point of first purchase from harvesters; grading tightens only once the wax enters refiner hands. Pharmacopeial specification is the closest thing to an objective purity gate for buyers of refined material.
Locations
| Country | Region | We trade it as |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Piaui, especially the Carnaubais/Litoral and river-valley municipalities | Origin |
| Brazil | Ceara | Origin |
| United States | national | Destination |
| Germany | national | Destination |
| Japan | national | Destination |
Commercial carnauba palm stands are concentrated in Brazil's semi-arid Northeast; Piaui, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte and Maranhao together account for essentially all world supply, with the palm's native range not commercially exploited elsewhere at scale.
Timing
Leaf-cutting and wax collection follow the Northeast Brazil dry season, when leaves are driest and wax yield is highest; wet-season leaves yield little usable wax.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest Aug to Dec, arrival Oct to FebPeak dry-season cutting runs roughly August through December; refiners and exporters hold stock and process/ship into the following months, so arrival windows extend past the harvest months. |
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Common questions
What grades of carnauba does SIP Global trade?
We quote 3 published grades of carnauba, including USP-NF - Pharmacopeial-grade refined carnauba wax, T1-T4 - Refined type grades and RAWPO - Raw powder/flakes (po/palha). Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is carnauba graded?
Colour, purity/impurity content and moisture at first purchase of the raw powder, ahead of refiner melt-filter processing and Amerwax/type classification; purity and identity of refined wax verified against the USP/NF and FCC monographs by melting range, acid value, saponification value and related physicochemical tests. Grading runs on 2 systems: USP-NF Carnauba Wax Monograph and Traditional trade type sort.
Where does SIP Global trade carnauba?
We trade carnauba in Brazil, Brazil, United States, Germany and Japan. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is carnauba harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are Brazil: harvest aug to dec, arrival oct to feb. Harvest is when the lot is taken at origin, arrival is when a shipment from that origin lands in a consuming market. Windows outside this pattern, including carry, trade on request.
How do I get a price for carnauba?
Send the grade, the origin and the delivery window to the SIP Global desk. That is enough for a trader to come back with a level and a settlement route. 1 listed carnauba market is published on this page, each with its full specification and terms. We take both sides, physical and financial, prompt to long dated.
Standards and data sources
The grading language on this sheet follows published standards. Trade volumes and tariff lines are public record. Verify anything here against the source.
- UN ComtradeOfficial international trade statistics by HS code
- ITC Trade MapBilateral trade flows and tariff data
- FAOSTATFAO production and trade series for agricultural commodities
Price this with our desk
Grade, origin and window if you have them. If what you are carrying does not fit the sheet above, describe it in your own words and a trader will take it from there.