Introduction
India leads the shellac market globally, as more than half the production comes from the country. The country produces vegetable saps and extracts, guar gums, plant and plant portions, fixed vegetable oil, shellac and lac-based products and other vegetable materials.
About 90% of the world’s guar gum comes from India. The major states producing guar gum are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The shellac market was valued at US$ 165.4 million in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 168.6 million in 2025. It is projected to grow to US$ 196 million by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.9% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2033.
India has been registering steady growth in the export of shellac and lac-based products over the last five years. It is the largest exporter of guar gum, sesame seeds, and shellac, and the second largest exporter of medicinal plants in the world. Large volumes of shellac and forest products are produced by India that are internationally acknowledged for their superior quality. Additionally, shellac and forest products contribute significantly to the lives of millions of rural and forest-dependent poor people. In India, NTFPs support the livelihoods of about 275 million people, with local communities and Indigenous People deriving up to 40% of their income from them. Vegetable saps & extracts constituted majority of exports in value terms with a 37.39% share as of FY24. This was followed by guar gum and plant & plant portions.
Export Data
Until recently, the Council had been looking after the exports of shellac and lac-based products only but the allocation of other Non-Timber Forest Produce & their value-added products complements the existing product basket. India is the largest exporter of guar gum, sesame seeds, and shellac, and the second largest exporter of medicinal plants globally.
In FY26 (until July 2025), exports of shellac product amounted to US$ 36 million. In FY24, exports of guar gum stood at 4.50 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) and the total value of exports stood at US$ 585.41 million. In FY23, India exported 4.69 LMT of guar gums, registering 24.1% increase from the 3.78 LMT from FY22. The value of exports during FY23 was US$ 713.14 million, growing by more than 37% from US$ 517.07 million in FY22.
In FY24, export of shellac and forest product from India stood at US$ 3,449.69 million. The total export of shellac and forest products from India during FY23 was US$ 3579.44 million. India has recorded consistent growth in shellac and lac-based over the last five years. The export of shellac and lac-based products during FY24 was US$ 125.59 million. In value terms, the largest exported item from India during FY24 was vegetable saps & extracts valued at US$ 1,289.9 million) with a share of 37.4%.
Guar gum was the second largest exported category in value terms with a 17% share. The export of plants and plant portions or herbs in FY24 was US$ 474.34 million which was a 3.4% increase from the US$ 458.11 million in FY23. The export of fixed vegetable oil and cake during FY24 was US$ 108.33 million compared to US$ 95.55 million in FY23. The overall exports during the two years grew at a CAGR of 13% from FY22 to FY24.
Country-wise exports
India exports shellac and forest products to more than 20 countries in the world. The major importers are the US, China, Germany, UAE, UK, Bangladesh, Mexico, France, Iraq, and Bolivia. Out of these countries the US, China, and Germany are the largest importers contributing to around 29.3%, 6.1%, and 5.3% of the total exported products from India.
The US was the largest importer of shellac and lac-based products. In FY25, the US imported US$ 21.95 million worth of shellac products, constituting 27.1% of the total exported shellac products. China was the second largest importer of shellac products with a share of 18% in shellac exports.
The USA was also the largest importer of vegetable saps and extracts from India. During FY24, the country imported worth US$ 485.2 million of the products.
The USA contributed nearly 37.63% of the total exports of vegetable saps & extracts during the year. China was the second largest importer of vegetable saps and extracts with a share of 6.64%. Additionally, the USA was the largest importer of guar gum. During FY24, the country imported US$ 113.35 million of guar gum with a share of 19.4% and US$ 164.17 million of guar gum in FY23 with a share of 23.0%. China was the second-largest importer of guar gum.
Government Initiatives
Strategy to maximize exports of products under the purview of SHEFEXIL
The strategic initiatives taken by the Council to promote the export of shellac and forest-based products are - Increasing the supply of focus products to propel exports from India; product and application research to go up on the value chain; Market development; and Development of Brand India.
Program for Inclusive Growth
This program is designed to tackle the lack of growth of the focus products. It is designed for the interests of tribal cultivators, who are among the most deprived rural poor and include a large percentage of women. The objective of this program is to - increase production of the products under the purview of this Council significantly in India; target benefits to beneficiaries – by augmenting their annual income significantly; establish processing units in the growing areas to create an integrated Development model.
The Non-Timber Forest Produce Information Centre (NTFPIC)
SHFEXIL formed a Non-Timber Forest Produce Information Centre (NTFPIC) which is a one-stop body for all the information related to shellac and forest products. The objective of the information centre is to build a community of stakeholders by bringing traders, producers, exporters, and co-operatives under its purview and providing them with a platform for highlighting the problems faced and providing them with support measures needed for export development.
Governing Body
Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL)
SHEFEXIL was formed under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1957. It was formed to enhance India’s non-timber forest produce and to facilitate the exports of veg saps, guar gums, sesame seeds, herbs, niger, vegetable material, fixed vegetable oil, cakes etc. The functions of the council are to provide information and assistance, technology upgradation advising, organize trade fairs and build statistical databases for import and export of the country.
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