Why origin concentration matters here more than anywhere else
India supplies the overwhelming majority of world castor oil, and within India roughly 85 percent of the crop comes from Gujarat — principally the Mehsana, Banaskantha, Patan and Kadi belts of north Gujarat, with Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh contributing the balance. In 2024, global trade in castor oil and its unmodified fractions was worth around 1.28 billion dollars, of which India accounted for approximately 1.15 billion. China was the largest single importer at roughly 511 million dollars, followed by the Netherlands and the United States.
The practical consequence for a buyer is that there is no meaningful second origin to pivot to. Price is set by Gujarat acreage, monsoon and the pace of farmer selling, and a formulator who depends on castor should treat supply continuity as a contracting problem rather than a sourcing problem. Castor is sown around the monsoon and picked in successive rounds from roughly December through March, with arrivals concentrating from January into April.
The product family
Castor oil, commercial and First Special Grade
The base product, expeller pressed and filtered. First Special Grade is the standard export quality and the reference most contracts are written against. Commercial grade sits below it on acid value and colour and is priced accordingly.
BSS grade / pale pressed grade
Cold pressed, lighter in colour, tighter on acid value. Specified where colour and odour reach the finished product — cosmetics, personal care, and some pharmaceutical and food-contact applications.
Refined and bleached castor oil
Further processed for colour and impurity removal where the application is colour sensitive.
Hydrogenated castor oil (castor wax)
Fully hydrogenated to a hard, brittle wax with a melting point around 85 to 88 degrees Celsius. Used in greases, cosmetics, coatings, and as a structuring and anti-settling agent. Supplied as flakes or powder.
Derivatives
Dehydrated castor oil and its fatty acids for alkyd resins and coatings; 12-hydroxystearic acid for lithium complex greases; ricinoleic acid; and downstream chemistry including sebacic and undecylenic acid used in bio-based polyamides. India’s derivative capacity is the reason a large share of value stays at origin rather than moving as raw seed.
Castor de-oiled cake
The pressing residue, traded as an organic fertiliser input on the strength of its nitrogen content. Note the regulatory point below.
Reference specifications
| Parameter | Commercial | First Special Grade | BSS / pale pressed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acid value (mg KOH/g) | 3.0 max | 2.0 max | 1.0 max |
| Moisture & volatile matter | 0.50% max | 0.25% max | 0.15% max |
| Hydroxyl value | 160–168 | 160–168 | 160–168 |
| Iodine value (Wijs) | 82–90 | 82–90 | 82–90 |
| Saponification value | 177–187 | 177–187 | 177–187 |
| Refractive index at 25 °C | 1.4770–1.4810 | 1.4770–1.4810 | 1.4770–1.4810 |
| Specific gravity 25/25 °C | 0.955–0.965 | 0.955–0.965 | 0.955–0.965 |
| Unsaponifiable matter | 0.8% max | 0.7% max | 0.5% max |
| Ricinoleic acid content | 85–90% | 85–90% | 85–90% |
| Colour (Lovibond, 5¼ in) | To specification | Pale, to specification | Lightest, to specification |
Hydrogenated castor oil
| Parameter | Typical |
|---|---|
| Melting point | 85–88 °C |
| Acid value | 2.0 mg KOH/g max |
| Iodine value | 5.0 max |
| Hydroxyl value | 155–165 |
| Saponification value | 177–185 |
| Form | Flakes or powder |
Match the specification to the application, not to the grade name
This is where castor buying most often goes wrong. Most enquiries arrive naming a grade and an acid value and nothing else, which leaves the parameter that actually governs the buyer’s process unspecified. Acid value tells you about free fatty acid and storage history. It tells you very little about whether the oil will perform in your reaction or formulation.
| Application | Specify above all | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Polyols, polyurethanes | Hydroxyl value, moisture | Hydroxyl value drives stoichiometry; water competes with the isocyanate reaction |
| Lubricants and greases | Viscosity, acid value | Viscosity sets the base oil contribution; acid value affects corrosion behaviour |
| Cosmetics and personal care | Colour, odour, moisture, unsaponifiables | All three carry through to the finished product |
| Alkyd resins and coatings | Dehydrated castor oil, iodine value | Drying performance depends on the dehydrated grade, not standard oil |
| Pharmaceutical | Compliance with the applicable pharmacopoeial monograph | Grade names have no regulatory standing; the monograph does |
| Greases, 12-HSA route | Ricinoleic acid content | Determines yield in the downstream conversion |
Send your specification sheet rather than a grade name. A supplier who asks which parameter is critical for your process before quoting is a supplier who has served buyers in your sector. One who quotes “FSG, acid value 2 max” against a polyol enquiry without asking about hydroxyl value has not.
Ricin: the question every new buyer asks
Ricin is a water-soluble protein present in the castor seed. During pressing it remains in the seed residue and does not partition into the oil, so castor oil itself is not a carrier for it. This is not a marketing claim; it is a consequence of the protein being water soluble and the product being a triglyceride oil.
The material that does carry the concern is the de-oiled cake. For that reason castor meal is traded as an organic fertiliser input under national fertiliser regulation, not as an animal feed material unless it has undergone detoxification, and it should be handled, stored and transported according to the rules of the country of destination. Buyers sourcing meal should confirm the applicable classification with their own authority before contracting, and buyers sourcing oil should simply require the certificate of analysis and specification sheet as they would for any industrial oil.
Compliance by destination
European Union
Castor oil placed on the EU market falls within the REACH regime, and the obligation sits with the EU importer or with an only representative appointed by a non-EU manufacturer. Establish before contracting which party carries the registration and whether your volume band changes anything. For cosmetic applications the INCI name is Ricinus Communis Seed Oil and the finished product sits under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, which places safety assessment obligations on the responsible person rather than on the raw material supplier — but the raw material documentation feeds that assessment.
Germany, France and Italy
These are the European centres of castor-based chemistry, from bio-based polyamides through to lubricant and coating formulation, and they are correspondingly the most demanding on documentation. Expect requests for full specification and analytical method, safety data sheet in the local language, batch traceability, and increasingly for evidence of responsible sourcing at farm level. Sustainability certification schemes now exist for castor supply chains and European buyers ask about them more often each year; agree explicitly at contract stage whether certified material is required, because it is not the default and it carries a premium and a longer lead time.
China
The largest single destination by a wide margin, buying both oil and derivatives for lubricants, coatings, plastics and personal care. Chinese buyers typically work to their own specification sheet and expect responsiveness on grade tailoring rather than a fixed catalogue.
Japan and South Korea
Both markets are established buyers of castor oil and hydrogenated castor oil for cosmetics, greases and specialty chemicals. Expect tight and consistent colour requirements, a full analytical package with stated methods, and low tolerance for lot-to-lot variation. Chemical inventory notification obligations apply in each market and sit with the importer; confirm the position before the first shipment.
United States
Castor oil is TSCA-listed and imported in significant volume for lubricants, coatings and personal care. Pharmaceutical and food-contact applications carry their own requirements distinct from industrial supply.
Documentation
- Certificate of analysis stating each contracted parameter with the analytical method used
- Safety data sheet in the destination language and format
- Specification sheet and technical data sheet
- Certificate of origin, and preferential origin documentation where a trade agreement applies
- Non-GMO, allergen and heavy metals statements where the application requires them
- Pharmacopoeial compliance statement where pharmaceutical grade is contracted
- Independent surveyor report on quantity and quality at load port for bulk and flexitank cargo
- Flexitank or ISO tank cleaning certificate and previous cargo declaration
- Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, declaring HS 1515.30
Ask for the previous-cargo declaration on any flexitank or ISO tank shipment, and require a cleaning certificate. Contamination from a prior load is the most common quality failure in liquid cargo and it is entirely preventable at contract stage.
Packing and shipment
| Mode | Detail |
|---|---|
| Drums | 200 kg and 225 kg HDPE or MS drums; approx. 80 × 225 kg gives around 18 MT per 20 ft |
| IBC | 1,000 litre totes for smaller or multi-grade shipments |
| Flexitank | Approximately 21 to 24 MT in a 20 ft container; most economical for single-grade volume |
| ISO tank | For repeat programmes and buyers with tank discharge facilities |
| Parcel tanker | Bulk parcels ex Kandla for large-volume contracts |
| Hydrogenated castor oil | 25 kg multi-wall paper bags with liner; flakes or powder |
| Storage note | Keep sealed and cool; acid value and moisture both drift upward with exposure |
Acid value and moisture are not static. Both rise with air exposure, heat and time, which means a cargo that met specification at loading can fail at discharge if handling was poor. Agree in the contract whether quality is determined at load port or destination, and who bears the risk in between. This single clause resolves most castor disputes before they start.
Ports and transit
Kandla is the principal castor oil export port, sitting closest to the Gujarat processing belt and handling both drummed and bulk liquid cargo. Mundra and Nhava Sheva serve as alternates. Indicative transit times, subject to service and transhipment:
| Destination port | Indicative transit |
|---|---|
| Shanghai / Ningbo, China | 18 to 26 days |
| Rotterdam, Netherlands | 20 to 26 days |
| Hamburg, Germany | 22 to 30 days |
| Le Havre / Fos, France | 16 to 28 days |
| Genoa, Italy | 18 to 24 days |
| Yokohama / Kobe, Japan | 22 to 28 days |
| Busan, South Korea | 20 to 26 days |
| New York / Newark, USA | 28 to 36 days |
How to qualify an Indian castor supplier
- Verify the Importer Exporter Code issued by DGFT and, where relevant, APEDA registration.
- Establish whether the counterparty crushes and processes or only trades. Ask which grades are produced in-house and whether hydrogenation and derivative capacity exist.
- Send your specification sheet and see whether the reply engages with the parameter critical to your process or simply repeats a grade name.
- Request a sample against your specification and test hydroxyl value, acid value, moisture and colour independently.
- Ask for a redacted certificate of analysis from a recent shipment to your market, with analytical methods stated.
- For flexitank or ISO tank supply, confirm the cleaning and previous-cargo protocol in writing before the first booking.
- Agree where quality is finally determined and who appoints the surveyor.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between FSG and BSS castor oil?
- First Special Grade is the standard commercial export grade, typically acid value not more than 2.0 mg KOH per gram. BSS or pale pressed is cold pressed, lighter in colour and tighter on acid value, usually not more than 1.0. Both come from the same seed; the difference is processing and purity.
- Does castor oil contain ricin?
- No. Ricin is a water-soluble protein that stays in the seed residue during pressing and does not partition into the oil. The de-oiled cake is the material subject to regulation, which is why castor meal is traded as a fertiliser input rather than as feed unless detoxified.
- How much loads into a container?
- About 21 to 24 MT in a 20-foot flexitank, or around 18 MT in drums. Larger volumes move by ISO tank or parcel tanker from Kandla.
- Which parameter should I specify?
- Depends on the application. Hydroxyl value for polyols, viscosity and acid value for lubricants, colour and odour for cosmetics, and the applicable pharmacopoeial monograph for pharmaceutical use. Acid value alone does not describe fitness for purpose.
- Can you supply hydrogenated castor oil and derivatives?
- Yes, subject to grade and volume. Send the melting point, acid value and form you require.
- What is the HS code?
- HS 1515.30 for castor oil and its fractions not chemically modified. Castor seed sits under 1207.30 and the meal under heading 2306.
- What is the minimum order quantity?
- One flexitank or one full container of drums. Part-container quantities can be quoted for sample and qualification volumes.
- First Special Grade is the standard commercial export grade, typically acid value not more than 2.0 mg KOH per gram. BSS or pale pressed is cold pressed, lighter in colour and tighter on acid value, usually not more than 1.0. Both come from the same seed; the difference is processing and purity.
- No. Ricin is a water-soluble protein that stays in the seed residue during pressing and does not partition into the oil. The de-oiled cake is the material subject to regulation, which is why castor meal is traded as a fertiliser input rather than as feed unless detoxified.
- About 21 to 24 MT in a 20-foot flexitank, or around 18 MT in drums. Larger volumes move by ISO tank or parcel tanker from Kandla.
- Depends on the application. Hydroxyl value for polyols, viscosity and acid value for lubricants, colour and odour for cosmetics, and the applicable pharmacopoeial monograph for pharmaceutical use. Acid value alone does not describe fitness for purpose.
| Parameter | Commercial | First Special Grade | BSS / pale pressed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acid value (mg KOH/g) | 3.0 max | 2.0 max | 1.0 max |
| Moisture & volatile matter | 0.50% max | 0.25% max | 0.15% max |
| Hydroxyl value | 160–168 | 160–168 | 160–168 |
| Iodine value (Wijs) | 82–90 | 82–90 | 82–90 |
| Saponification value | 177–187 | 177–187 | 177–187 |
| Refractive index at 25 °C | 1.4770–1.4810 | 1.4770–1.4810 | 1.4770–1.4810 |
| Specific gravity 25/25 °C | 0.955–0.965 | 0.955–0.965 | 0.955–0.965 |
| Unsaponifiable matter | 0.8% max | 0.7% max | 0.5% max |
| Ricinoleic acid content | 85–90% | 85–90% | 85–90% |
| Colour (Lovibond, 5¼ in) | To specification | Pale, to specification | Lightest, to specification |
Send your specification sheet rather than a grade name. A supplier who asks which parameter is critical for your process before quoting is a supplier who has served buyers in your sector. One who quotes “FSG, acid value 2 max” against a polyol enquiry without asking about hydroxyl value has not.
| Castor Oil FSG | on request | up |
| Castor Oil BSS / cold pressed | on request | up |
| Hydrogenated Castor Oil | on request | up |
| Castor De-oiled Cake | on request | up |
| 15 Jul | Sowing with the monsoon — north Gujarat |
| 01 Dec | Harvest begins, successive rounds |
| 31 Jan | Arrivals peak, Mehsana and Kadi |
| 31 Mar | Harvest window closes |
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