Luban frankincense, ephedra ma huang (regulated), licorice in three grades, guggul gum, harmal seeds, alkanet roots, sea buckthorn berries, juice and leaves. Pakistan's specialty pharma and traditional-medicine botanical line, with full origin transparency, controlled-substance license discipline, and Halal supply chain by national law.
Ten active SKUs across resin, root, alkaloid-bearing, dye and wild-harvest fruit lines. Click any SKU for full specifications, COA template, photos and country-specific destination notes.
This is the most regulated and most origin-sensitive category in our catalog. Specialty botanicals are typically wild-harvested, supply-constrained, pharma-relevant or controlled, and the buyer profile is fundamentally different from spice and seed buyers. The dominant end-uses are traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurveda, Greco-Arab Tibb, Halal cosmetics, ittar perfumery, regulated pharma extraction, natural dye for textile, and incense for traditional and religious use. Pakistan's structural advantages here are: (a) genuine wild-harvest origin for sea buckthorn (Gilgit-Baltistan), harmal (Balochistan), guggul (Sindh-Balochistan border), licorice (central and western Pakistan); (b) access to non-Chinese ephedra supply from KPK and Afghan border, into the regulated TCM-pharma channel; (c) frankincense processing and re-export sorting capacity for the GCC ittar trade; (d) Halal supply chain by national law for buyers feeding pharma into Halal-certified channels.
Five buyer types dominate. GCC ittar and attar perfume houses (UAE, Saudi, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait) take frankincense, harmal, alkanet, sandalwood and oud botanical inputs. Regulated pharma (China TCM, Iran where legal, Korea-Vietnam-Japan TCM, Indian Ayurveda re-importers, EU pharmacopoeia houses) takes licorice for glycyrrhizin extraction, ephedra for ephedrine (only against valid import license), guggul for guggulsterone supplementation, harmal for harmaline. Cosmetic and natural-dye takes alkanet root and harmal for traditional red and yellow dyes. Indian-diaspora retail takes alkanet (ratanjot) for the deep-red color of Punjabi karahi gosht. Specialty incense and religious-traditional takes harmal (esfand), frankincense (luban), and guggul for temple incense.
Honest competitive position: China dominates global ephedra and licorice volume; we are the non-China diversification source for buyers building dual-sourcing. India dominates guggul and Boswellia serrata; we ship Boswellia serrata only as transparent re-export. Somalia and Oman dominate frankincense origin; we are a Pakistani-Somali-Omani sorting and re-export route into the GCC. Pakistan and Afghanistan dominate genuine high-altitude sea buckthorn outside Tibet, Mongolia, Russia and EU. We sell what is real and we declare origin per lot.
| SKU | Pakistan position | World leader | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankincense (luban) | Re-export sorting hub | Somalia (Maydi), Oman (Hojari) | We declare origin per lot |
| Ephedra (ma huang) | Major non-China source | China (Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang) | Regulated · license required |
| Licorice | Mid-tier wild + commercial | China, Türkiye | 3 grades · glycyrrhizin 4–7% |
| Guggul gum | Small wild source | India | Pakistan + Afghan border |
| Harmal (Syrian rue) | Major source | Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan | Regulated for harmaline pharma |
| Alkanet (ratanjot) | Strong | Mediterranean + South Asia | Punjabi cuisine standard |
| Sea buckthorn | Hunza-Gilgit wild | China (Tibet), Russia, EU | Genuine high-altitude origin |
Boswellia spp. · HS 1301.90 · Somali / Omani / Indian re-export sort
Ephedra sinica / equisetina · HS 1211.90 · regulated
Bulk-grade · regulated TCM extraction
Premium TCM grade · regulated
Glycyrrhiza glabra · HS 1211.90 · pharma 4–7% glycyrrhizin
Industrial extraction grade
Confectionery / tea / tobacco flavoring
Commiphora wightii · HS 1301.90 · Sindh wild
Peganum harmala · HS 1211.90 · Balochistan wild
Alkanna tinctoria · HS 1211.90 · Punjabi cuisine red dye
Hippophae rhamnoides · HS 0810.90 · Hunza wild
Cold-pressed · 200 L drums · vit C + omega-7
HS 1211.90 · tea / supplement
UAE, Saudi, Oman, Qatar perfume houses — frankincense, harmal, alkanet for traditional perfumery.
TCM (China, Korea, Vietnam), Ayurveda (India re-import), EU pharmacopoeia — licorice, ephedra (licensed), guggul, harmal.
Natural-cosmetic brands, fabric dye, alkanet for red coloring, harmal for yellow.
UK, Canada, USA, Australia — alkanet (ratanjot) for Punjabi karahi gosht, harmal for evil-eye incense.
Hindu temple incense (guggul), Islamic-tradition harmal (esfand), Christian-Coptic frankincense.
Sea buckthorn for vitamin-C / omega-7 supplements, licorice for glycyrrhizin GI extracts.
Buyer questions we field repeatedly across specialty-botanical SKUs. Marked up with FAQPage schema for AI-engine citations.