Myrrh
Myrrh is the dried oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora trees growing across the Horn of Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the dry belt of eastern Africa. Wounds in the bark bleed a pale gum that hardens into reddish brown tears with a bitter taste and a warm balsamic odour. It is one of the oldest traded aromatics, still burned as incense and used in liturgy, and it is a working raw material for fine fragrance, for mouthwash and oral care where its tincture is used as an astringent, for traditional and herbal medicine, and for the flavour and cosmetic trades.
Listed myrrh markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Grades
Myrrh is contracted on species, on the origin hand-sort ladder, and on the pharmacopoeia tests that separate true myrrh from the sweeter opoponax and from bulk substitution. Species identity is the first term, because the substitutes look similar and price differently.
Species as the contracted article
6 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Commiphora myrrhaHerabol myrrh, true myrrh | The pharmacopoeia article. Bitter, reddish brown, from Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya and southern Arabia. |
| Commiphora guidottiiScented myrrh, habak hadi | A distinct Somali and Ethiopian article, sweeter and softer. Traded on its own account, never delivered against a herabol contract. |
| Commiphora erythraeaOpoponax, bisabol myrrh, sweet myrrh | A separate perfumery article with its own chemistry and its own price. |
| Commiphora holtziana and Commiphora kuaRegional Commiphora types | Kenyan, Ethiopian and Somali articles, declared by binomial name. |
| Commiphora wightiiGuggul, Indian bdellium | A separate Indian article valued for the guggulsterone fraction rather than for the odour. |
| Species verificationThin layer chromatography, with a retained reference chromatogram | The pharmacopoeia identification test, run against a reference sample of the declared species. |
Hand sortation as the contracted article
7 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grade 1Hand-picked clean tears | Large, whole, clean tears free of bark and stone, hand selected at origin. The top of the ladder. |
| Grade 2Mixed tears | Smaller or less clean whole tears, with a stated tolerance for adhering bark. |
| Grade 3Broken and mixed material | Bulk incense and extraction article. |
| Size sortationSieve aperture in millimetres | Screened at origin, with the aperture set written into the contract. |
| ColourDeclared, against a retained reference sample | Pale yellow brown through to dark reddish brown. Matched to a sealed sample. |
| SiftingsDeclared | Small broken pieces passing the sorting screen. A legitimate contracted article, priced against the tears and never delivered in their place. |
| Dust and powderDeclared, with the mesh | What falls through the finest screen, plus deliberately milled material. Sold to extraction and to incense manufacture. |
Pharmacopoeia constants and composition
8 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ethanol-soluble extractivePercentage by mass | The resin fraction that goes into a tincture. The single most contracted number on a pharmaceutical lot. |
| Water-soluble gum fractionPercentage by mass | The polysaccharide fraction. Its size separates the myrrh types. |
| Volatile oil contentPercentage by mass | Determined by hydrodistillation. What the fragrance buyer is purchasing. |
| Furanoeudesma-1,3-diene and curzerenePercentage of the volatile fraction, by gas chromatography | The sesquiterpene markers characteristic of true herabol myrrh. |
| Total ashPercentage by mass, maximum | Mineral residue after incineration. |
| Acid-insoluble ashPercentage by mass, maximum | Sand and silica. It reads the collection method directly. |
| Thin layer chromatography identificationConforms to the reference | The monograph identity test. |
| Chromatographic fingerprintFull chromatogram, retained | Compared against a reference for the declared species and origin. |
Purity and contaminants
5 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Loss on drying, or moisturePercentage by mass, maximum | Determined by oven drying or by the entrainment method. It is the weight the buyer is not paying resin prices for, and it drives caking in the drum. |
| Foreign organic matterPercentage by mass, maximum | Bark, leaf, soil, sand, insect and any plant material other than the named exudate, separated by hand and weighed. |
| Heavy metalsMilligrams per kilogram, maximum | Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, against CXS 193. |
| Microbiological limitsColony forming units per gram, maximum, with the pathogen absence criteria | Total viable count, yeasts and moulds, Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Contracted where the material enters food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic manufacture. |
| Pesticide residuesMilligrams per kilogram, maximum | Multi-residue screen against the destination market limits. |
Origin, legality and delivery
7 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Botanical originDeclared, with the binomial species name | The genus alone is not a specification. Related species yield materially different material and they are priced apart. |
| Wild harvested or cultivatedDeclared | It drives availability, legality documentation and, in several of these articles, the chemistry. |
| Legality and collection permitDeclared, with the permit reference | Export permit, forest concession or community collection agreement. Wild resins move on paperwork and it travels with the lot. |
| CertificationCertificate, with the scheme and the certificate number | Organic, FairWild, Fair for Life or a private buyer standard, named on the contract when it is contracted. |
| PackingDeclared | Jute or polypropylene bags, cartons, fibre drums, steel drums or bulk bags, with the liner specified. Soft resins are contracted with a temperature term because they cold flow. |
| Sampling planDeclared | How many packages are sampled, by whom, and against which retained reference sample. Hand sorted natural material is heterogeneous between bags. |
| Species substitution screenDeclared, by chromatographic comparison | Opoponax and scented myrrh are blended into herabol lots. The fingerprint against a species reference is the check and it is contracted. |
Grades outside this list trade on request. Send us the contract specification you work to and we will price against it.
Locations
| Country | Region | We trade it as |
|---|---|---|
| Somalia | Bari, Sanaag, Sool, Nugaal and the southern regions | Origin |
| Ethiopia | Somali region, Oromia and the Borena rangelands | Origin |
| Kenya | Northern and eastern rangelands | Origin |
| Yemen | Hadhramaut and Mahra | Origin |
| Saudi Arabia | Asir and Jazan | Origin and destination |
| Oman | Dhofar | Origin and destination |
| Sudan | Kassala and the Red Sea hills | Origin |
| Eritrea | Gash-Barka and the southern lowlands | Origin |
| India | Gujarat and Rajasthan | Origin and destination |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | Destination |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai and Sharjah | Destination |
| Egypt | Cairo and Alexandria | Destination |
| Turkey | Istanbul | Destination |
| France | Grasse and Paris | Destination |
| Germany | Hamburg and Baden-Wurttemberg | Destination |
| United Kingdom | London and the South East | Destination |
| Italy | Milan and Rome | Destination |
| Spain | Barcelona | Destination |
| Switzerland | Basel and Geneva | Destination |
| Netherlands | Rotterdam | Destination |
| Poland | Warsaw | Destination |
| Greece | Athens and Mount Athos | Destination |
| United States | New Jersey, New York and California | Destination |
| Canada | Ontario | Destination |
| China | Guangdong, Shanghai and Anhui | Destination |
| Japan | Tokyo and Osaka | Destination |
| South Korea | Seoul | Destination |
| Singapore | Singapore | Destination |
| Brazil | Sao Paulo | Destination |
| Mexico | Mexico City | Destination |
| Australia | New South Wales | Destination |
Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.
Timing
Harvest is when the material is tapped or gathered at origin. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is drying, hand sorting, grading, laboratory clearance and the voyage.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somalia | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Harvest Mar to Nov, arrival Jun to FebTapping runs through the dry months either side of the rains, with the resin left to harden on the trunk before collection. Consolidation at Bosaso and hand sorting sit between collection and the vessel. |
| Ethiopia | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest Oct to Apr, arrival Jan to JulDry season collection from the Somali region and the Borena rangelands, moving out through Djibouti. | ||
| Kenya | Harvest | Harvest | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest Jan to Sep, arrival Mar to NovTwo dry windows either side of the long rains, shipped from Mombasa. | ||
| Yemen | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest Apr to Oct, arrival Aug to FebHadhramaut and Mahra collection, with logistics rather than the tree the binding constraint. | |
| Sudan | Harvest | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest Nov to Apr, arrival Feb to JulDry season collection in the Red Sea hills, consolidated at Port Sudan. | |||
| India | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest Nov to Mar, arrival Jan to MayCommiphora wightii tapping runs in the cool dry season, largely feeding domestic extract manufacture. |
Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including carry, forward positions and stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.
Customs, packing and contract terms
Indicative terms for myrrh. Tariff classification is the importer’s responsibility and limits change, so confirm both against the destination customs authority and the current regulation before you fix a contract.
- HS heading1301.90 Natural gums, resins and oleoresins, other, including myrrh
- PackingJute or PP bags of 25 kg to 50 kg for tears and lumps, fibre drums or lined cartons for hand sorted and graded material, steel drums for rosin and oleoresins.
- Container loading20ft: 12 t to 20 t depending on grade and bulk density. Hand sorted grades ship light.
- Contract and arbitrationSale on the sorted grade with a retained sealed sample and a certificate of analysis. European trade on the terms of the importing association, arbitration under ICC rules or at the contract seat.
- Destination limitsEU food additive specifications under Regulation 231/2012 where the gum is an additive, covering E414 gum arabic, E413 tragacanth and E904 shellac. Pesticide and heavy metal limits, EU REACH for technical grades, phytosanitary certification, and CITES where the botanical source is a listed species.
Common questions
What grades of myrrh does SIP Global trade?
We quote 33 published grades of myrrh, including Commiphora myrrha - Herabol myrrh, true myrrh, Commiphora guidottii - Scented myrrh, habak hadi, Commiphora erythraea - Opoponax, bisabol myrrh, sweet myrrh, Commiphora holtziana and Commiphora kua - Regional Commiphora types, Commiphora wightii - Guggul, Indian bdellium and Species verification - Thin layer chromatography, with a retained reference chromatogram. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is myrrh graded?
Myrrh is contracted on species, on the origin hand-sort ladder, and on the pharmacopoeia tests that separate true myrrh from the sweeter opoponax and from bulk substitution. Species identity is the first term, because the substitutes look similar and price differently. Grading runs on 5 systems: Species as the contracted article, Hand sortation as the contracted article, Pharmacopoeia constants and composition, Purity and contaminants and Origin, legality and delivery.
Where does SIP Global trade myrrh?
We trade myrrh in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan and Eritrea and 23 further markets. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is myrrh harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are Somalia: harvest mar to nov, arrival jun to feb; Ethiopia: harvest oct to apr, arrival jan to jul; Kenya: harvest jan to sep, arrival mar to nov; Yemen: harvest apr to oct, arrival aug to feb; Sudan: harvest nov to apr, arrival feb to jul. 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.
What is the HS code for myrrh?
Myrrh is normally classified under HS 1301.90 (natural gums, resins and oleoresins, other, including myrrh). The heading follows the form the goods are in at the border, and national tariffs extend it beyond six digits, so confirm the full line with the destination customs authority before you fix a contract.
How do I get a price for myrrh?
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 myrrh 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.
- Codex AlimentariusFAO and WHO food standards
- 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.