Sal
Sal seed is the fruit kernel of Shorea robusta, a large hardwood tree native to the sal forests of the Indian subcontinent. The seed is gathered by hand from the forest floor after natural fall, sun-dried at village level, and traded either whole and unshelled (as wild-collected seed) or after mechanical decortication and expeller-pressing into a solid fat commonly called sal fat or sal butter. Sal fat's fatty acid profile is dominated by stearic, oleic and palmitic acid in proportions close to cocoa butter's, which lets it substitute for or extend cocoa butter in chocolate and confectionery manufacture as a cocoa butter equivalent (CBE), and it is also used in soap-making and as a specialty edible and cosmetic fat. Sal seed itself has no oil content until pressed; the seed is the raw material traded from forest-collector communities to oil mills and CBE manufacturers.
Listed sal markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Grades
Sal seed has no international grading standard. Lots are contracted on botanical identity, on oil content of the seed as determined by laboratory assay, on moisture content, and on foreign-matter percentage, since a heterogeneous wild-collected lot varies seed to seed in all three. Buyers verify a seller's declared figures against an independent laboratory report on a drawn sample rather than the seller's own figures.
Species and collection method as the contracted article
2 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Shorea robustaSal seed | The commercially traded species, native to sal forests of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. |
| Collection methodDeclared | Hand-gathered after natural fall from the forest floor by primary tribal or forest-dwelling collectors, sun-dried at village level, as distinct from any mechanically processed intermediate. |
Oil content by Soxhlet extraction or pulsed NMR
1 grade
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Oil contentPercentage by mass | Determined by Soxhlet solvent extraction (AOCS Am 2-92) or pulsed NMR (ISO 10565) on a dried, ground sample; commercial sal seed lots commonly report oil content in the low-to-mid teens percentage range of whole seed mass, rising when only the decorticated kernel is assayed. |
Moisture and foreign matter
2 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| MoisturePercentage by mass, maximum | Determined by oven drying to constant weight; elevated moisture in sun-dried wild-collected seed accelerates mould growth and rancidity before pressing. |
| Foreign matterPercentage by mass, maximum | Pod fragments, leaf litter, stones, wing membrane and other non-seed material, separated by hand and weighed; declared against a retained reference sample. |
Origin, legality and delivery
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Minor Forest Produce documentationDeclared, with the permit or transit-pass reference | Documentation establishing legal collection and forest-origin of the seed travels with the lot from origin; requirements differ by Indian state, since some states nationalize sal seed as a state-monopoly minor forest produce while others permit private trade. |
| PackingDeclared | Jute or polypropylene bags, with liner specified if moisture control is required for the transit leg. |
| Sampling planDeclared | How many bags are sampled, by whom, and against which retained reference sample; a wild-collected natural seed lot is heterogeneous bag to bag. |
Specifications 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 |
|---|---|---|
| India | Sal forest belt across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal | Origin |
| Nepal | Terai sal forest belt | Origin |
| Bangladesh | Sal forest tracts of Dhaka and Mymensingh divisions | Origin |
| Sweden | Sweden | Destination |
| Netherlands | Netherlands | Destination |
| Malaysia | Malaysia | Destination |
| United States | United States | Destination |
Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.
Timing
Harvest is when fallen sal seed is gathered from the forest floor and sun-dried at origin. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is sorting, laboratory assay, decortication or pressing (if any), and the voyage.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Harvest | Harvest | Harvest | Arrival | Arrival | Arrival | Harvest May to Jul, arrival Aug to OctSal fruit ripens and falls in the pre-monsoon and early monsoon months across the Chhota Nagpur plateau (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal); collection and village-level sun-drying follow immediately after fall. |
Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including carry, forward positions and stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.
Common questions
What grades of sal does SIP Global trade?
We quote 8 published grades of sal, including Shorea robusta - Sal seed, Collection method - Declared, Oil content - Percentage by mass, Moisture - Percentage by mass, maximum, Foreign matter - Percentage by mass, maximum and Minor Forest Produce documentation - Declared, with the permit or transit-pass reference. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is sal graded?
Sal seed has no international grading standard. Lots are contracted on botanical identity, on oil content of the seed as determined by laboratory assay, on moisture content, and on foreign-matter percentage, since a heterogeneous wild-collected lot varies seed to seed in all three. Buyers verify a seller's declared figures against an independent laboratory report on a drawn sample rather than the seller's own figures. Grading runs on 4 systems: Species and collection method as the contracted article, Oil content by Soxhlet extraction or pulsed NMR, Moisture and foreign matter and Origin, legality and delivery.
Where does SIP Global trade sal?
We trade sal in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sweden, Netherlands, Malaysia and United States. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is sal harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are India: harvest may to jul, arrival aug to oct. 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 sal?
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 sal 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.
- ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
- 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.